Everything Black
by TheSealer
Summary: Izuku was lucky enough to be born with a quirk. And unlucky that using said quirk makes him cruel and sadistic. He struggles to become a hero despite having an 'evil' quirk. So he can prove he can do good and to atone for a terrible thing he did at the age of four. Quirk!Izuku. Inspired by a youtube video, Izuku with powers of Selim/Pride from Fullmetal Alchemist. READ AND REVIEW!
1. Beginnings in Black

**This idea was hatched in my mind some time ago when I watched a youtube video someone edited to incorporate the shadows of Selim/Pride from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. Basically the video is a villain Deku story. The title is ****the name of the song. ****The link is below, j****us****t delete the spaces.**

**W****ww . you tube watch?v=wVBImsMwnZA**

**HOWEVER, I changed a lot of stuff so my story is barely similar to that: this is NOT a Villain Deku story. It's a Quirk!Izuku story where he has a quirk that is equal to Selim/Pride's shadow powers. It's my first MHA fict, so please give me constructive criticism. I want to see this project bloom.**

**"**_**Italic**_**" - thoughts**

**Italic text - Izuku's narrating.**

* * *

_Men were not born equal._

_That was the second most important lesson I learnt at the age of four._

"Kacchan, leave him alone, please!"

"Deku, you're still pretending to be a hero?" Katsuki Bakugo, or 'Kacchan', smirked. His sweaty palms emitted a small burst.

"If you don't stop bullying others...I'll fight you." behind Izuku Midoryia, his shadow extended a tendril which detached itself from the ground. The tendril however shook like its owner.

"As if! Your stupid quirk is just as scared as you are." with that, Bakugo lunged with his quirk blazing, followed by the two bullies accompanying him. Izuku cringed, but kept his shadow tendril up.

Half an hour later, the playground became the scenery of a horrid show.

_The most important lesson I learnt in those days, is that demons can live inside us._

.

* * *

**Present day**

_Izuku Midoriya_

_Quirk__: Shadow Bender - can control his shadow to __interact__ with the physical, namely touch and grab objects. The shadow can grow and spread, but it's limited by a range of 1,5 meters from the user. Reach beyond that and the user's experiences severe exhaustion and fainting._

_Uses__: Unknown (Due to lack of analysis)_

_Weaknesses__: Unknown (Due to lack of analysis)_

_Ways to improve__: Unknown (Due to lack of analysis)_

_Moves__: None_

_WARNING__: Prolonged usage of the quirk makes the user became more violent, cruel and sadistic. DO NOT USE THIS! IT'S EVIL!_

Izuku barely paid any attention to the teacher talking about the future of his students. He was flipping through his notebook of heroes. Each page dedicated to a specific hero's quirk. By accident he had stumbled upon a page which, unlike most others, had barely anything written; the page of his own quirk. The ink of the letters was worning out. He had written it years ago as a warning to himself and never edited it since.

Finally the teacher said something that caught his interest. "Now that you're all third-years, you need to think about your future. I'll pass you handouts, but..." the man made a flamboyant gesture. "you're all going to the hero course!"

Everyone promptly showed off their quirk, except for Izuku and Bakugo. The former out of habit, the latter because he had no need to show everyone who already knew how powerful and awesome he is. Which Bakugo smugly stated right away.

"You're all going to heroics, you extras. But you'll all be stuck at the bottom. I'm aiming for the top. I'll go to UA, and reach beyond All Might!"

The whispers of awe ran amok. In spite of his dismissive and mocking attitude towards everyone else, the whole class still respected and looked up to the explosive blond. Katsuki Bakugo never let any obstacles stand in his way. That was why, deep down, Izuku still looked up to him...

"Oh, right! Midoriya is also going to UA." off course the teacher had to pipe in. Immediately the awe turned to jeers directed at the green-haired.

"Is that joke?"

"How can he enter without a quirk?"

"How can he be a hero without a quirk?"

"I do have a quirk!" Izuku protested. The mocking was only joined with disbelief.

"There he goes again."

"Says he has a quirk but I never saw him use it."

"He's just a jealous liar!"

_The __cycle__ repeats again. I never risked using my quirk. It's too dangerous. So everyone started branding me 'quirkless'. __Even though__ I am registered as having a quirk. Then I try to tell them I do have one. They ask me to show it...but I can't. Hence the __cycle__ goes._

Unnoticed by Izuku was Bakugo glaring daggers silently at him.

After class was dismissed, Izuku picked up his notebook. He was looking forward to add the notes he wrote down about Mt. Lady's debut, this morning...

"Hey, Deku!" the notebook was yanked out of his hands. "You still think you can be a hero, you dumbass nerd? And what's this, 'Hero Analysis for the Future'."

Bakugo proceeded to nonchalantly scorch the notebook before Izuku could plead for it back and threw it out the window. Some of Bakugo's cronies approached to enjoy the show.

"Get this through that daydreaming brain of yours, Deku. I'm the only one from this mediocre junior high-school who'll get the pleasure of applying for UA." he looked Izuku very close in the eye. "So be a good quirkless loser and don't apply."

"I'm not quirkless!" Izuku said a bit louder than he intended. The cronies snorted. Bakugo's menacing glare darkened. Unlike everyone else, Kachan never jeered when downtalking him. He'd growl and scowl with the meanest face he could muster.

Bakugo pressed a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Care to repeat that, you quirkless scum."

Izuku gulped. He was shaking more and more as Kachan's furious glare intensified.

Unknown to the tormented boy, Bakugo noticed some movement behind Izuku. What happened next was at lightspeed: Bakugo emitted a growl (which sounded more like a yelp) and fired a small blast as Izuku's chest, pushing him against the wall.

The green-haired cried out in shock and a little pain. Even Bakugo's sidekicks were a bit alarmed. Izuku whimpered under the blond's wide, angry, red eyes.

"Don't ever think you can compete with me! So don't even bother try!" Bakugo's sparking hands trembled just slightly. Without another word, he stomped his way out with sidekicks after him.

Izuku checked the spot where he got the blast. His shirt uniform was burnt, the skin was slightly singed, fortunately. Still...

"He was more violent than usual...and the way he looked at me was like..." Izuku gasped and looked warily at his own shadow. "No, I did it again. I...used _it_."

Izuku clenched his shaky fist in self-disappointment. "Sometimes I wished he was truly quirkless."

* * *

After leaving the class-room, he dejectedly picked up his notebook from a pool with koi fish. As luck would have it, it wasn't completely ilegible. He would have to copy everything to a new one once he got home. While walking absentmindedly into a tunnel, he took a breath and slapped his cheeks.

"Okay. Nevermind what others say. I've got to become a hero. I have to prove I can do good. That I'm not a m..."

"Hello there!" a gurgling voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Above was a dark green slime with eyes and a big, sinister smile.

"A vill-!" the slime rained down on Izuku. The boy found himself unable to move or breath. The villain had him and began forcing his way into the boy's mouth.

"Finally a meat sack I can use for a disguise. You're _my hero_, kid. Now stop struggling. This will only hurt for a while."

It hurt a lot! Tears of horror and pain cascaded down the fanboy's face. There was nobody around, no Pro-hero. Nobody was going to save him. He was going to die like this, without a chance of realizing his dream!

"_No, I don't wanna die like this! Not like this, please!_"

Without warning, as if God had answered his prayer, the slime was cut clean in different angles and splattered.

"What the hell?!" the villain shouted.

Izuku took in a much needed gasp of air. It was with great shock and a different type of dread he realized what had saved him.

"My shadows!" then his vision felt heavy and spinning. But before he could pass out or the, or the villain could counter-attack...

"Have no fear, for I AM HERE!"

There was a sudden gust of wind and the slime was even more scattered all over. The villain was defeated. Last thing Izuku saw was a mountain of a man, smiling.

_I never imagined that day would change my fate, forever._

A few moments later, Izuku woke up, yet he believed he was still dreaming.

"Young man, I'm so sorry you became involved in my pursuit of this villain." All Might, the actual Number 1 Pro-hero, was standing right there. Izuku couldn't even process if the moment was real or he was hallucinating.

"_All Might is here! Right before me!_" his first thought was asking for an autograph, only to learn the idol had gone ahead and signed the cover of his notebook. His second thought was bowing repeatedly in gratitude, promising to treasure the signed paper.

"Well, I must deliver this misbehaving boy to the police." the grinning hero tapped a bottle where the slime villain was now contained. "I must say, young man, the usage of your quirk did quite a number to weaken him. I barely had to use any of my power. With such a handy quirk, I'm sure you'd make a wonderful Pro, someday."

Izuku's mind and body froze. Had he heard it wrong? It took him a good effort to find his voice and ask:

"W-what?"

All Might looked at him, confused but still smiling. "I said, you can be a great hero. That is, if you choose to be, my boy!"

Izuku fell on his knees, rigid. All Might, his idol, had just stated that he could be a hero. His dream was possible. All his life, everyone from doctors, counselors, teachers, to Kacchan had told him his quirk wasn't suitable for a hero. Because of its..._downside_, Izuku would be more of a danger rather than a savior. Even his own mother had sobbed and apologized when he asked her if he could be a hero.

And now All Might had contradicted them all! All Might, the Symbol of Peace and Justice. All Might, the living definition of what a hero is. All Might...who doesn't know the true nightmare that Izuku's quirk truly is.

Just like that, the shining sun of hope that rose in Izuku's chest was clouded in a storm of dread.

"Well, I'm off. See ya, young..."

"WAIT!" Izuku covered his mouth right after shouting, in fear of offending his idol. He quickly calmed himself a little. "Please wait, All Might."

"I can't be here all day." the hero spoke firmly but gently. "Pro-heroes have to be constantly on the lookout."

"Please, just tell if...if" the boy gulped. "can someone like me, with an evil quirk, truly be a hero?"

Any haste the hero felt evaporated. His smile faltered a little, yet he spoke with as much assertivity. "My boy, there is no such thing as an 'evil' quirk. It's what we do with what we have that defines good and evil." though the hero firmly believed those words, he couldn't help but feel his old arch-nemesis' quirk was the closest thing there was to an 'evil' quirk.

"Mine is, though." Izuku said meekly. All Might said nothing so the boy continued. "I can control my shadow and use it as a weapon, but... I found out when I was little that the longer I use it, I... turn into a monster." he sounded like a little child admitting he had done a bad thing.

"A monster?" All Might now faced him fully, his smile almost gone.

"When I was four, I used my shadows for too long. I became more and more violent and cruel to my friends while using it. And then..." Izuku stopped talking before the horrid memories came back in full. He never spoke about the incident in fear that his shadow would start acting on its own. He looked down at his feet."...Ever since I haven't used my quirk. I was hoping I could become a hero without resorting to it."

All Might wasn't sure what to say, at first. Every quirk had their flaws and nuisances. But one that makes the person bad? He had never heard of such a thing. Yet, this boy spoke of his quirk like he actually fears it. If it was as bad as he said it, perhaps a safer option was not to become a hero. Yes, a safer option would be to tell him to give up.

But, what kind of hero would let someone down without at least trying to help them?

"Young man!" All Might renewed his smile. Izuku looked back up, eyes wide. "I repeat myself; there is no such thing as an 'evil' quirk. Every power can be used for good and evil. It's what our choices that define us as one of the other." he laughed loudly to help lift up the boy spirits. It seemed to work. "Many heroes have impractical quirks or ones with terrible downsides and found a way around such difficulties."

"Yeah, that's true. Pro-hero Edgeshot's quirk allows him to thin out his body as he wishes, but when he was a student, that process caused him immense, crippling pain. Then there's Thirteen..." the fanboy began muttering right then and there about heroes who reached high despite such setbacks. All Might watched in puzzlement and small amusement has the boy ranted.

"_At least, he's out of that bleak funk_."

Izuku deflated a little. "But, all those quirks have deficiencies that don't affect their minds."

"Yet, they were able to surpass their limitations through training. With enough drive, any goal can be reached! Have you ever trained your quirk? Tested its limits, side-effects?"

Izuku looked down, again. "No. Like I said, I haven't used it in years...I'm afraid I'll hurt someone."

"_This boy wants to be a hero for the sake of helping others, I see. He puts their safety before his own dream__ and __potential. A noble heart, indeed. But he will never reach far if he holds himself back_." All Might smirked. "My boy, what is your name?"

"Uh, I'm Izuku Midoriya, sir."

"Well, Young Midoriya. I maintain what I said about you having potential to be a great hero. But it will not do if you don't learn to tame your power. I can help you with that."

"YOU CAN?!" Izuku's eyes shone with tears and stars.

"Nope." the Pro answered curtly, making Izuku anime fall. "Not me, anyways. I know a friend who can help you." All Might proceeded to give him instructions to be at a place, the next morning at sunrise. After a long and thankful farewell from the boy, All Might jumped high in the air and disappeared from view.

"Good thing I didn't need to use a move on this slime villain, or else my time wouldn't have run out by now." the Pro-hero sighed to himself.

* * *

**Next morning**

**Dagobah Municipal Beach.**

Izuku blew a breath of hot hair into his hands. Even a summer dawn could be a bit chilly, especially with the light training clothing he was wearing. That was part of All Might's instructions: be at Dagobah beach at the crack of dawn dressed for training. Wait there for a friend of All Might's to arrive.

Izuku distracted himself trying to spot the ocean, hidden behind a wall of garbage. He would have believed the place was a trash heap rather than a beach if he didn't hear the waves crashing behind the makeshift wall.

"Good morning!" a ragged voice spoke. Izuku turned to see a lanky, emaciated man approaching. He had shaggy blond hair and sunken blue eyes. "Young man, you are Izuku Midoriya, right?"

"Uh, yes, sir. Good morning. Who are you?"

The man smiled. "My name is Tohsinori Yagi, a friend of All Might's. He's asked me to help you."

* * *

**Izuku met All Might in both forms, but he doesn't know they're one and the same. He thinks Toshinori is just a close friend of All Might's.**

**Since All Might didn't use too much power when saving Izuku from the slime villain, he maintained his muscular form and never lost the villain. So Bakugo never got in trouble.**

**I don't plan on having Izuku inherit One For All. The sad part about this story is that All Might and Izuku don't grow to be as close as in cannon. Also, Izuku didn't inspire All Might by saving Kacchan. But I may still have the boy change the hero's mind about quirkless people.**

**Bakugo doesn't smirk maniacally. He still treats Izuku poorly, but if you read this chapter with a keen mind, you'll notice Bakugo is a jerk for a different reason than in cannon: deep down, he's rightfully afraid of Izuku.**


	2. Blackened Muscles

**N3k0s4**: I'm inclined to say no, izuku won't get OFA. Buuuut, that is up to you and the other readers. I have this more or less planned until the end of USJ Arc. Afterwards, your feedback will count.

**Poharan**: No worries. This is a pseudo-crossover. Everything you'll see from FMA is Izuku's shadow powers. No alchemy, no characters, no chimeras.

2 - read this chapter all the way to the end notes and you'll know.

3 - no, bad thoughts and feelings DON'T strengthen Shadow Bender or vice-versa. The 'evil' feelings are the drawbacks of the quirk. Like Kaminari becoming brain dead if he surpasses his limit. Izuku hasn't used or study his own quirk, so there's a lot he doesn't know. This chapter changes that.

4 - Whether Shadow Bender is sentient or not, that will be in the open. I only have the story more or less planned until the USJ debacle comes and goes. Your feedback on the matter will be much appreciated.

5 - Dark Shadow does bear some resemblance to Shadow Bender. Tokoyami and Izuku will have a short interaction. I also have a surprise on how their quirks will react when fighting each other, but that's still a nebulous thought for the Sports Festival Arc. Now, about eating or attacking his friends...I'll PM the answer, but it has spoilers. You still want it?

* * *

_The following ten months were a living hell for me._

The cool sand. that the summer morning sun couldn't reach yet, met Izuku's face as he fell forward, sweating and panting. Behind him was a broken down fridge he was failing to drag around the junkyard that was Dagobah beach.

"Come on, Young Midoriya. How do you expect to strengthen yourself lying on the ground?"

The boy turned his whimpering face to the lanky man. "But Mr. Yagi, how can this training help me control my quirk? Since we started I haven't even used it once."

Four days ago, Izuku met Toshinori Yagi, a friend of All Might's. The sickly looking man was recommended by the Pro-hero himself to help Izuku master his dangerous quirk. Mr. Yagi was a patient and encouraging coach, if his methods appeared to be...dubious. Such as having the student do all sorts of training exercises based on dragging trash out of the beach. In none of which he was allowed to use his quirk. Not that Izuku would have risked it, anyways.

Toshinori waved a bony finger. "This isn't about controlling your quirk. First, you have to be able to maintain it."

"Maintain it?" the boy blinked twice.

Toshinori sighed. "You told me you scarcely used your shadows since you were little. You power is like an atrophied muscle. I saw you passed out in the tunnel after using it to save yourself from the slime villain. I'm pretty sure such an extreme and sudden use of your untrained power caused that exhaustion."

Izuku grimaced, embarrassed he hadn't thought about it like that. "Yes, I guess you're right. Most quirks are limited directly or indirectly by a person's stamina. Seldom I've heard of excessions to that. There were these twins who shared the same multiplication quirk but if one used it too much, the other..."

"Young Midoriya." Toshinori snapped him out of his muttering. Izuku apologized repeatedly and was about to continue his endeavour when a thought struck him:

"Mr. Yagi, you said you were there watching the whole thing with the slime villain. I don't recall seeing you there."

Toshinori had an attack of vomiting blood. Izuku yelped, even though he had seen those before. Toshinori had simply waved it off as a health issue, nothing contagious. The lanky man recomposed himself and corrected:

"What I meant to say, All Might was there! He ... described the scene to me in great detail. That's right." the man chuckled a bit tensely and ordered Izuku to resume his training.

* * *

_Mr. Yagi told me the physical training was the first step. Improving my stamina and strength with just three months worth of training would have been enough to make me fit to handle my quirk. But I asked for more..._

"You wish to extend the training regime further?" Toshinori frowned. "Why? I assure you, three months is enough to build up your body, my boy."

"I trust you, Mr. Yagi. But I can't do just 'enough'. I need to catch up with everyone else. And I'm aiming for UA where they go beyond! I must do more if I'm going to compete with others who trained their quirks their whole lives."

Toshinori smiled widely. "That's the spirit, Young Midoryia! That's the attitude befitting a hero in-training worthy of entering UA!" the gaunt man slapped Izuku's back with a sudden amount of unexpected strength. "Many people nowadays believe a strong quirk is all it takes to be a hero. Therefore, many aspiring hero youths don't bother to train their bodies and many low rank Hero schools don't train their students physically enough. UA does that and goes _way _beyond."

It was settled. The physical training would be extended to five months instead of three. It only became more and more grueling, as Toshinori raised the bar higher whenever Izuku showed signs to be adapting to the current level. The coach had him drag all sorts of heavy trash into a truck, many times while running. The training extended even at home, as Toshinori lent Izuku some basic equipment. And formulated a sleeping schedule and strict diet.

When the five months were over, a good portion of the beach was spot clean. For the first time in years, the morning sunlight hit the sand.

"Look, young Midoryia, what you have done." Toshinori waved his arm showing the horizon.

"I did it! I restored the horizon." Izuku smiled wearily. His disposition fell a little when he looked around to see the faraway ends of the beach still littered with trash. Toshinori noticed this and declared:

"A life lesson I learned long ago, no single individual, no matter how powerful, can solve all the problems of the world alone. And instead of being disappointed of what you couldn't accomplish, take a better look at what you have." the man pointed to the remaining trash mountains. Often, there was a person or two picking up an item and taking it away. So embroiled had Izuku been on the training, he hadn't noticed anyone before. "I've spoken to those folks. They said that seeing you cleaning up the place inspired them to join in. Do you see now, Young Midoriya? You gave them hope that the horizon will be restored in full!"

"I...gave them hope?" Izuku whispered, finding that very concept surreal. Yet, it was real. "Just like...All Might."

Toshinori sighed contentedly. "Yes, my boy. Just like All Might."

* * *

_Five months were out and so was the first part of my training. Now that I had a fitter body, the second part began. Training my quirk was something I was both looking forward and dreading._

On the first day of part 2, Toshinori had Izuku try out his quirk, slowly. Izuku focused. The semi-shaded shadow his body imprinted on the ground darkened until was pitch black. It lazily shape-shifted and extended on the ground, gaining a much wider area than Izuku's frame. Then it rose in the air in the form of a thin tendril.

Izuku couldn't help but feel a multiple emotions at that. Self-conscious that this was all he could do. Wariness over the bad memories of what his power could do. And curiosity, too. He inched closer to the tip of the tendril noticing two things: it had a tiny hand at the tip with five thin, pointy finger-like lengths; and it was 2 dimensional.

"Uh, I didn't remember my shadows were 2D."

Toshinori observed impassively. "Do you feel tired?"

Izuku shook his head. "Not at all."

The man nodded. "And emotionally, how do you feel?"

Izuku understood that was a gentle way of asking if he was feeling cruel or violent already. Self-conscious, he answered:

"I feel normal." he cast a curious and attentive eye to the tendril. At Toshinori's coaching, Izuku created another one. Then another, and another and so on… His shadow propagated ten tendril-like appendages, all waving in the air like the tentacles of an anemone trying to sense the world around.

"This is just strange." Izuku breathed. "I can feel them all. It's like my body grows extra arms.

"But are you commanding them right now?" Toshinori pointed to the waving tentacles.

"No. They just do that, but I feel I can command each one."

"Then try to make one of them stay still."

What followed was a round of quick exercises of simple movements to see much control Izuku had over each one of them. Turned out it was easy to control one, two or even three tendrils at once doing different small tasks. Anymore and it became increasingly difficult. Izuku was never great at multitasking.

That was just a warm-up for Yagi to see what he could do. After a short break, the man had him try to dismantle several objects in any way he saw fit.

"Alright, that's enough for now."

"But we've just started." Izuku protested.

Toshinori wordlessly pointed to the object Izuku had been practicing on. It was a kitchen mixer that Izuku had in the beginning try to disassemble. It was smashed open.

"Young Midoriya, I ordered you to do these exercises in 'any way you see fit' for this same reason." Toshinori got up from his sitting position. He held a chronometer. "In the first twenty minutes, you tried to gently disassemble those apparatus." he pointed to the disjointed parts discarded all around. "Then your movements became increasingly more violent. Until this…" he pointed to the smashed object.

Izuku felt like an anvil dropped on him. His shadows disappeared and he fell on his knees. It happened again! What he tried to hard to prevent. Even after all this time, his quirk still made him a monster…

"Time is the key!" the man said dramatically, startling Izuku out of those dark thoughts.

"T-Time?"

"That's right, my boy. I have seen all types of quirks throughout the years. From what you told me, I figured your quirk has a time limit before it begins affecting your behavior, rather than a usage limit or a stamina limit. So I came up with this test in advance to test out that theory and figure out said limit." Toshinori rubbed his hands together. "Well, technically, I didn't come up with the test. I've been reading all sorts of books based on quirk training, recently. One of them explained an exercise like this, so I adapted from it."

His voice sounded like a distant echo that Izuku barely heard. Only one fact the man stated had stuck on the boy's brain. "Y-you're saying...I can use my quirk for about 20 minutes, before…"

"Yes!" the man said in English. "You can tame your quirk, like anyone else. Your quirk doesn't control you."

* * *

_It turned even if I deactivate my quirk every 20 minutes, it's not enough. My behavior will remain affected unless I keep it deactivated for a period of 20 minutes. Those 20 minutes are my absolute limit. So I have to think fast, come up with a solution to any situation as fast as possible so I don't waste that precious time._

_Suddenly, my quirk no longer felt 'evil'. Just 'problematic'. I must keep track of how long I use it and then let it 'rest' for that same amount. Or else, those minutes will accumulate until they surpass the 20-minute mark._

"You are evolving, Young Midoriya. But the path you have before you is still long and rough."

Izuku took a deep breath. "Yeah, but that's all the more reason I have to get better."

Toshinori smiled. This boy had an unyielding heart alright, something the man found more and more evident everyday.

"Mr. Yagi, do you think someone without a quirk can become a hero?"

Toshinori was caught off guard with such an inquiry.

"Where did that come from?"

Izuku looked abashed. "Before I met you, I was going to try to enter UA without using my quirk, at all. It would be as if I was quirkless." he cast an expectating glance to the man.

Toshinori didn't reply right away. "No, I don't think anyone can become a hero without a quirk. Pro-heroes are constantly risking their lives, putting themselves against superpowered villains. It's not something one can do without power."

Toshinori ignored the little voice in his head calling him a hypocrite. After all, a once quirkless boy inherited the most powerful quirk from his master.

"Does...All Might believe that, too?" of course the boy would ask that.

"He does." Toshinori answered curtly. Frankly he wasn't happy about giving that answer, but it was a sad reality. You can't change the world without power.

"So I really must learn to control my quirk, then." Izuku sighed. He had always carried hope that hard work and determination would be enough. But Mr. Yagi begged to differ and so did All Might apparently.

"_I must do what I can with what I have._" the boy thought.

* * *

_The biggest flaw with my quirk was its' very short range. _

"Come on, Young Midoriya! You want to go to UA? You know what the Americans say, 'no pain, no gain'!" Toshinori spoke through a megaphone. He thought the current regiment would require extra motivation.

Said regiment had the goal of expanding Izuku's shadow reach of 1,5 meters. Whenever he stretched his shadow beyond that limit, he'd get severe exhaustion and fainting. With his current physique, the fainting was no longer an issue, but the exhaustion was still there.

Izuku stood unmoving in the centre of an accurately drawn circle with a 1,5 meter radius. He was ordered to stretch his shadow about a hand beyond the line and perform several simple tasks. Such as carrying a microwave around the circle.

"You feel exhausted when surpassing your radius limit because that's your body warning that you're going beyond what it can bear. Many quirks have said limitations, and they can be overcome by training on that limit and then going a little beyond. It's like a muscle!" Toshinori made a comical flexing pose. "You reach a little beyond your natural limit, every time, and you'll see that limit increasing. The longer you can reach, the wider your circle will become."

Izuku had to admit, hearing his coach speaking so loudly did drove away the mental part of the fatigue. As for the physical part, he had become accustomed to sore muscles after five months of hellish training.

It was a blessing his shadows packed way more physical strength than his body.

* * *

_As time went on, I brought up something I took note of._

"I've noticed if feels easier to draw out my shadow during the middle of the day."

Toshinori brought a pensative hand to his chin. "Perhaps it has something to do with how tired you are. People do tend to feel more energetic during sunny days."

"I think it's something else, Mr Yagi." Izuku had his own pensive look. "Shadows are more contrasting when there's more light. Maybe the more light there is, the easier it is to use my quirk."

Toshinori said in the privacy of his thoughts. "_He has been thinking about this theory for some time, now. Remarkable, Young Midory. Months ago you were terrified of using your power. And look at you now!"_

So they tested said theory. Izuku was locked inside an empty fridge, in complete darkness. Unable to see, he attempted to summon a shadow to break free from his 'cage'. Nothing happened. He willed a shadow tendril to touch him and confirm it was there. Nothing happened.

Conclusion: it wasn't just difficult to use his power in absolute darkness; it was impossible.

"Rather ironic." Toshinori mused. "I've met some quirk users who control darkness in some form and they worked better on that element. Yours is the complete opposite. A good way to discover the limits of what you can do would be to reserve intense training only during the day."

"But Mr. Yagi, what if one day I have to use my quirk at night or in a dark place? I must overcome my weaknesses."

The man raised an eyebrow. "So you want to excel, uh?"

"I have to catch up with everyone else." Izuku repeated his words from months ago. He had repeated them so often that they became a motto of sorts to keep him going.

Internally, Toshinori smiled proudly. "Fine, but don't complain when you break yourself down, my boy! We'll move intensity training to afternoon and evening. During the day, we'll try lighter stuff. Experiments and simple tricks."

The regiment was updated then. During the sunniest hours of the day, the regime would be lighter, with simple warm ups, training moves and experiments. The early mornings and evenings were filled with endurance exercises, to make Izuku use his shadows in harduous manners that would have been less tiring during the day. It was notorious that the lack of light made his shadows slower and smaller.

Due to the new policy, the day became a more relaxed time for the hero-in-training. Once, he found himself resting under the shadow of a trash pile. Toshinori joined him in silence, until the man broke it with a question:

"Young Midoriya, why do you want to be a hero?"

Izuku blinked in surprise. A soft blush invaded his cheeks as he answered awkwardly. "Since I was a little kid, I watched All Might save people with a smile. He made me believe everything would be alright, no matter how bleak it was. He was my inspiration. I want to bring hope like he does." Izuku felt even more awkward when he realized he just spilled his entire dream to someone else like that. Probably, Mr Yagi was expecting something more flashy and less corny…

"To be like All Might is a noble aspiration." Mr. Yagi had a strange smile. It appeared content, but also weary. Izuku immediately worried he had upset his teacher and apologized. Toshinori chuckled in response, waving an appeasing hand:

"No need to fret, Young Midoriya. Your reason truly shows you have the heart of a true hero. I'm glad helping others for their sake is your goal."

Izuku exhaled with a tired smile. It fell when he realized Mr. Yagi was wrong. There was another reason he wanted to be a hero. The accident when he was a 4-year-old...when the dark side of his quirk revealed itself.

The unaware Toshinori had his own thoughts. "_He will truly become a great hero. Perhaps even a Symbol of Peace. Worthy of carrying a sacred torch…_"

* * *

_My shadows are 2D and no amount of training can change that. But I stumbled upon an idea which could make that useful._

It was during an exercise of heavy lifting that it was made a discovery: shadows were perfect for cutting, since they were a geometrical plane, completely flat with no thickness.

"Your quirk can only be as versatile as your imagination." Toshinori had said.

If Izuku constructed his shadows with sharp edges and launched them at great speed, they could cut through virtually anything with ease. The remaining trash was used for target practice, being rendered as clean sliced litter, much easier to pack. Resulting in an even cleaner Dagobah beach.

The one downside was that propelling the shadows so fast, so suddenly, was a bit painful. It felt exactly like making a sudden movement for which one's muscles weren't trained for.

As the training evolved, Toshinori brought what looked like a tennis ball machine, upgraded to throw balls of crumbled trash at high-speed. Izuku's training was to use his shadows defensively and offensively. He would try to block the incoming makeshift balls, using his shadow as a shield and also cutting them in-coming.

It was inevitable a few projectiles did manage to bruise him. 'No pain, no gain', like the Americans say.

* * *

Another five months had passed.

Dagobah Beach had been completely transformed. At the end of the first pentamester, the place truly looked like a beach, but some parts were still a trash heap.

The second pentamester ended. Dagobah beach had been restored to its long forgotten glory. Random civilians picked up where he left off and continued to clean up the place. Izuku even made the job easier by cutting and stacking the larger pieces of trash.

"Look what you have accomplished, Young Midoriya."

The boy looked abashed, not surprising. "It wasn't just me." True, more and more random locals had joined the unofficial 'Clean-Up Dagobah' movement.

"True, it wasn't just you. But you started this. You showed these people they can make the world better. You gave them hope. That's the kind of hero you want to be, isn't it?"

Izuku's reply was a wide smile tempered with tears. His training was complete. He felt something unfamiliar. A sensation that he didn't have very often. He felt like he could take actually realize all his dreams. True, he had felt confidence before, but it always carried a dose of self-doubt. Now, there was no doubt or hesitation. He could do this!

And it was all thanks to this thin man, Toshinori Yagi.

"Thank you for everything, Mr. Yagi." the boy bowed, eyes glistening.

"You're welcome, my boy. I look forward to your future."

"Mr. Yagi, my mom is making a big dinner to celebrate and, if you'd like to come."

Toshinori was grateful, but had to politely decline. He claimed he was going to be busy, to night. Though disappointed, Izuku understood. Once in a while, Mr. Yagi had to make an emergency retreat during training. The man claimed he had a busy life, which he vaguely and scarcely talked about.

After the two parted ways, Toshinori took one last look at the boy. "I do look forward to your future, Young Midoriya. And how much you will prove…" Yagi looked at his bony fist. Over the last few months, the boy had occupied his thoughts. But he couldn't be sure yet. First he had to see him in real action...It wasn't yet time. Soon, but not yet.

* * *

That night, Izuku made a big update on his journal.

_Quirk__: Shadow Bender - can control his shadow to interact with the physical. The shadow can grow and spread, but it's limited by a range of 12 meters from me. Reach beyond that and I'll experience severe exhaustion._

_Uses__: The shadows can interact with objects. Since shadows are 2d constructs, they can cut smoothly through matter, as long as they have enough momentum. The shadows are physically stronger than my body and can carry heavier loads. Also, they have great resilience to physical assaults, serving well as a shield._

_Weaknesses__: Shadows require light. If I'm in complete darkness, Shadow Bender is rendered null and void. The effects if the light is intense enough to obfuscate darkness are still unknown._

_Using the quirk for 20 minutes straight will make me go violent, arrogant, and increasingly cruel as time goes on. As a safety measure, use quirk only until that time. Then not use it for another 20 minutes to make sure the side effects don't come back. If used in a shorter term than the limit, and do not let it rest during that same amount of time, then those already used up minutes will keep counting._

_Ways to improve__: The range can be improved by training and adapting to the exhaustion. However, the longer the radius is, the harder the training becomes. Possibly, surpassing the current limit may not be humanly possible._

_To keep track of time, use a chronometer._

_Moves__: Ultimate Shield: Using the shadows as a shield._

_Ultimate Spear: Making a sharp-edge shadow and launching it at full speed can cut through anything._

* * *

**Izuku's powers are still evolving. His shadows don't have mouths nor eyes...for now. In case you didn't notice, the moves 'Ultimate Spear' and 'Ultimate Shield' are references to FMA. But no matter how much he trains, I won't make him as OP as Pride. Whenever Izuku learns a new move or information, I'll write an update on his journal to keep you up to speed.**


	3. Start in Black

**"**_**Italic**_**" - thoughts**

_**Italic text**_** \- Izuku's narrating.**

**RETCON: First I apologize for my mistake. Originally, in this chapter, Izuku got 6th place in the exam with 60 rescue points and 27 villain points. I put him in 6th as an 'upgrade' since in canon he got 7th. But many reviewers made me realize my mistake. Since I didn't alter the other contestants points, Izuku should have gotten 1st place with a total of 87 points. So I've corrected this now. Instead, he got only 13 villain points, and like in canon, it was the rescue points that saved him from not being accepted. I changed this because: a) I don't wanna make him OP. b)he's still very raw at using his quirk.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: A Start in Black **

Excitement and nervousness were eating away at Izuku in equal measures. Today was the day! Entrance Exam day. Izuku went through his morning routine in a frenzy with a wide smile on his face. He put on his old school uniform, save for the new shirt since Kacchan burnt old one. He devoured his healthy breakfast; even though the physical training had ended, Izuku continued the diet Toshinori recommended.

He was about to depart when mother called him. "Izuku."

Her face was laced with hesitation. Like she wasn't sure what to say. So she smiled and wished: "Good luck, son. I believe in you."

Izuku smiled back, even though he understood that wasn't all his loving parent wished.

Truth was, Inko had been a little hesitant when she learnt Izuku met someone who was helping him control his quirk. Although she was not known to impose her will often, she insisted on meeting this person even if he was recommended by All Might. One morning, Izuku introduced her to Toshinori. The two had a polite conversation and ended it on cordial terms. Since then she never voiced against Izuku's training or Toshinori, despite the nights he came back home looking worse for wear.

Over the months, she saw how her son began dominating his neglected power. Sometimes he used it briefly at home for menial tasks. He looked so confident, it made her breath in relief. Nonetheless, Inko's worries never truly disappeared. She feared her son may catch another horrid break, like he did when he was 4 years old. At the bottom of her mind, there was a lingering fear that he would lose control, again. At best, he may be disqualified and never allowed to be a hero, a prospect which would shatter him. At worst… she dared not to think it.

"Thanks, mom. Everything will be alright." Izuku could tell as much, because deep down under all confidence he built up over the previous months, he always carried a tiny speck of that same fear. He tried to push away his and her fears with his best All Might grin impression.

* * *

Standing before the UA entrance, Izuku took a breath.

"Deku!" he gasped and turned around to see his former friend pacing dangerously calm. "What are you doing here, you quirkless scum? I told you I'm the only one who gets into UA!" and of course, the blonde grabbed him by the collar. Any confidence Izuku felt, evaporated like a puddle in the desert. He stammered an answer:

"I-I'm just here for the E-entrance exa…"

"You think a quirkless shit like you can get in here?!"

Izuku wanted to argue he did have a quirk, but last time he did so, it backfired.

"What's your problem?" both boys looked at the speaker. A girl of chestnut hair and pinkish cheeks.

"Mind your business, round face!"

The girl pouted. "If you want to be a hero so much, you shouldn't threaten others."

The explosive boy's scowl deepened. He let go of Izuku, making sure to shove him and departed. The girl walked up to Izuku.

"Are you okay? What was that jerk's problem?"

The greenette's nervous shaking didn't go away, but it changed his tune. There stood a pretty girl talking to him. Actually wanting to talk to him!

"So, are you nervous? I sure am." she smiled widely and continued talking even though he gave no reply. Not that Izuku found himself capable of. "Anyways, let's do our best. See ya around!" she ran inside, it almost appeared as if her feet floated.

* * *

_We all went through an orientation from Pro-Hero Present Mic (where I was called out by the mean-looking glasses senior). The exam was a mock battle against four types of robotic enemies. We only had ten minutes to accumulate as many points as possible._

"_Since it's only 10 minutes, I can afford keeping Shadow Bender active without worrying about the time limit." _Izuku mused, looking over the massive gates to the battle ground built like a city. "Then again, many hero battles on the street can last almost an hour. I have to prepare myself for prolonged battles, even if this is just an exam. I better stick to my 'quick-bursts' policy." he was already mumbling aloud.

"You again." he was startled out of it by the mean glasses boy. He gave Izuku a scolding look. "Are you trying to interfere with the other contestants' focus with your muttering? Do you intend to sabotage others to gain an upper-hand?"

"N-no! I was just s-strategizing."

"Then do so, quietly." the older boy admonished, adjusted his glasses and walked away. Izuku looked around to sheepishly realize his mutterings had attracted many stares. Now to add at the slowly increasing anxiety was embarrassment.

"STAAAART!" Present Mic's voice exploded from atop a tower. "What? There ain't no countdowns in real-life battles."

Izuku looked behind him to see the gates had subtly opened and everyone had already rushed inside. He hurried after the crowd. Small explosions resonated all around the city, which drove the contestants to segregate in smaller crowds and smaller crowds.

Izuku quickly found himself face-to-face with a mech that moved on a single wheel. A cyclopian head with a red optic and two long arms. A large number 1 was painted on its armor - a One-Pointer.

"Target acquired! Prepare to die, her…"

The 'bot never had time to finish its threat. Izuku had taken a solid breath the moment the enemy made itself known and…

"Ultimate Spear!" his sharp shadow lunged at the machine, slicing its torax clean. Ultimate Spear was his main offensive move; moving his shadow at such great speed that it slices the hardest materials like hot butter.

_During the Mr. Yagi's training, I learnt that taking a deep breath and releasing it while shooting Ultimate Spear, it lessens the pain induced by the move, significantly._

"Oh, _impressionnant_!" said a boy of shining face and flamboyant movements, whom watched the display. "Not a very flashy display of power, but very _efficace_. My method would have been far more gracious. Well, _adieu_!"

Shaking off the awkward encounter, Izuku deactivated Shadow Bender carried on running. The 'quick-bursts' regime required him to keep his shadows active only whenever he needed them and let them rest for the remaining time. It was a policy designed to avoid the terrible price he would pay should he exceed the 20-minute limit. In this exam, that safety measure was unnecessary, but Izuku decided to use this exam as a real-life test.

His two moves, Ultimate Spear and Ultimate Shield - the second was simply use his resilient shadows to cover himself against brunt attacks - were the ideal offense and defense. Any unease he felt at the start of the exam slowly melt away as robot after robot fell before him.

"Ten points." he counted to himself. "Five minutes to spare. I still need more."

It was an advantage that the robots were single-minded and didn't strategize. They were no more sentient than the piles of trash Izuku cleaved on Dagobah Beach.

One thing that intrigued him was the variety of techniques the other contestants had. The flamboyant boy had a navel laser which he used for attack, but also for propelling himself at high speed. The nice brunette girl had a gravity quirk, very good for incapacitating the mechs by making them float and dropping them at high altitude. The glasses boy, with his leg-engine quirk, was by far the seemingly most inventive of them all. He used them for making strong kicks. Or running circles around mechs to make them rotate and incapacitate them.

"_They rarely used the same trick a second time. Everyone is so imaginative when it comes to their quirks. I can only make a shield and a sword._" Izuku once more repeated the words he said to Mr. Yagi. "_I have to catch up with everyone else! I have to master Shadow Bender like it's a part of my body."_

* * *

**In the observation room.**

"We have a good batch this year." said a squeaky, cheerful voice belonging to the shortest person in the darkened place. "A handful of them have a great control over their quirks, and a generous dose of imagination on how to use them."

"Quite so, Principal Nedzu." a muscular man dressed in red, Pro-Hero Vlad King, scratched his chin. His eyes wandered to a screen showcasing a contestant in the lead. "That kid with the explosion quirk, he's quite efficient and destructive. Perhaps a bit too much. He seems only focused on the battle and has shown no concern for property damage or other competitors needing help."

"An attitude problem. That can be fixed." the principal responded. The pair of black, beady eyes followed the gaze of the gaunt man sitting beside him "Toshinori, you seem very attentive to that one in particular."

"Yes, I helped that kid get the hang of his quirk. I'm glad to see all that training bore fruit."

"The one with the shadow quirk…" spoke a dull, fatigued voice. "...He's only capable of using it as a shield and a sword. No imagination. A one-trick pony. No potential for heroics."

"True, but frankly, if there is no need to be imaginative, then it's not worth the effort." the short principal argued. "His 'shield and sword' as you put it seem to be enough."

Another teacher pointed out. "The mechs are nothing more than big, though cans with a quarter of a brain. I've argued we should have the support department invent a better AI. Make them smarter and more challenging. If the mechs operated in an organized unit, it would force the competitors to do the same. We could evaluate their teamwork."

"An interesting proposal, Power Loader." in the darkness of the room, no one could see the principal's features taking on a sinister smirk. "Maybe it is time to level-up the difficulty." he chuckled darkly and pressed a button.

* * *

An apartment complex burst. The ground trembled. From the wreckage broke free a metallic behemoth. One whose shape Izuku barely recognized. It was grander than any of the surrounding infrastructure, moved on a pair of continuous tracks and had a rectangular head with a flat face and eight red optics.

"The Zero-pointer!"

"It's huge!"

Izuku recalled Present Mic's words during the orientation. "_The Zero-pointer is an obstacle that will go berserk in narrow spaces. I recommend you stay away from it_."

Everyone took that advice to heart and started running the opposite direction. There was no way (or reason) for anyone to take down the titan!

"Help…" Izuku halted when he heard a soft cry. There she was, the nice girl that went to his defense against Kacchan. Trapped under a pile of rubble, desperately trying to free herself.

Without thinking, Izuku rushed _towards _her. And the Zero-pointer.

"Ultimate Shield!" his shadow stretched to its 12-meter limit and folded, forming a round barrier against the mech's giant tracks.

With his hands, he tried to move the big block on top, but it was no use. His shadows did a better job, but only barely moving it a few centimeters. He couldn't risk moving the rubble too fast, or else the girl would be hurt. To make matters worse, his Ultimate Shield wasn't even slowing down the metal monster.

"It's you…"she tried to search for a name. "Uh, Deku!"

He winced at the insult. "It's okay, I'm here to help." he tried to make his best All Might grin to appease her. It seemed to work, a little. "Uh, can't you just use your quirk to levitate all of this?"

"Sorry. My quirk makes me nauseous. And I'm already at the limit." she sighed exhaustingly.

Seeing no other option, Izuku switched to the Ultimate Spear. To his despair, the tracks were impervious to the attack.

"_I'm out of options! There's no way I can move that thing. I can't cut it and I can't stop it._"

"You have to get out of here." the girl said shakily. She must have senses Izuku's own desperation, as any comfort his presence gave her disappeared completely. "That thing will crush us both. I'll...If I call it quits and they'll stop the robot." her eyes glistened with tears and Izuku felt a cold grip in his heart. This girl was about to give up on her dream, because she had no one to help her. No hope.

"No, I won't let you give up!" Izuku spoke out, shocking her with his vehemence. He looked back to the approaching colossus.

"_Come on, think! That thing has stronger armor than all the other mechs, but it must have weak spots. The joints, maybe._" he noticed the joints weren't covered in the dark green armor in order to not restrain movement. What could be compared to the robot's waistline was the closest spot. "But it's so high. I need to get up there!"

"If you want to go up, I can float you." the girl offered extending her hand.

Izuku grimaced. "It's no use. If I fly away, my shadow will disappear." One crazy idea occurred to him. During his training with Mr. Yagi, he had attempted to climb piles of trash with his quirk. Shadow Bender was connected to him by the surface of his body that touched the shadow.

Without thinking through, with only half a plan, Izuku broke into a run against the Zero-pointer. His shadow was fortunately projected before him, so he commanded it to rise from the ground and stretch until it reached the armor in the tracks. He grasped the black blanket with his hands and commanded it to pull. Not to pull the opposite end which was attached to the mech, but instead to pull at Izuku's own end.

The shadow blanket retracted, pulling Izuku with it to the hull atop the robot. It didn't end there, though. His shadow propelled him upwards, released its hold on the hull of the beast.

Everything was pain! His limbs muscles felt like they were being stretched beyond the breaking point, and they probably were. Izuku screamed in agony and fear before he landed hard on the was able to barely grasp the mech's armor, under a fall that would break him a lot of bones. One eye opened and he tried to ignore the pain. A little above, the beast's waist joint was in his sight. Only one shot!

"Ultimate Spear!" he screamed to release some of the pain. His shadow stretching and piercing into the weak spot. The agony doubled, tripled, as did his screaming.

There was an explosion. Heat prickled at his skin. His vision became increasingly blurry.

He let go...

A slap to the face nearly broke him out of the in-coming unconsciousness. He hit the ground softly.

Then, everything black.

* * *

"That kid's either an idiot or he's got a lot of guts." Cementoss muttered. "He took on the Zero-pointer seemingly without a plan and his trick to elevate himself didn't appear that efficient."

"My guess, he came up with it on the fly. And it had repercussions in his body." Nedzu examined with a keen eye the screen. The green-haired boy used his shadow ability to launch himself so he could grab the Zero-pointer close at its waist joint and then sliced it up. The mech became immobile, with a large sliced opening on the waist. The boy, probably blinded by his pain let go of his perch and fell, but was luckily saved from more injuries by a girl's gravity quirk. "Luckily, I've already dispatched Recovery Girl."

"Reckless." the man with the dull voice whispered.

Toshinori Yagi had his opinion, but didn't voice it. "_Young Midoriya, you rushed without hesitation against an opponent who had no value, only to save someone in need. You truly have the soul of a hero_."

That boys actions today added more weight to an idea Toshinori had been toying with.

* * *

_A week passed. I did okay in the written exam. The practical one was pretty lousy. I only got thirteen points. I heard some contestants got barely less, but the failure of others isn't my success. Then there were the injuries I got after the Zero-pointer; teared muscles__on my arms and legs. Good thing UA faculty member, Recovery Girl, healed me up in a jiffy._

Izuku Midoriya had been making a good enough impression of a zombie, the passing week. He performed his chores and physical training rather absentmindedly and without passion, like the walking dead. The only thing that did stirred up a bit of emotion and thinking were his updates on the journal. He'd started writing down the quirks of the other contestants, even though he didn't have much to go on.

Currently, he was updating the notes on his own quirk.

_Weaknesses__: Because Shadow Bender requires my body to project a shadow and for my body to be in physical contact with that shadow, I can't be in the air, not even leaping._

_Moves__: As I can use Shadow Bender to drag objects towards me, I figured I can do the opposite and drag myself towards the objects my shadows are grasping, like the top of the Zero-pointer's tracks. Unfortunately, it puts a great strain on my limb muscles. I need to train this move so my body can endure it._

Izuku made a mental note to keep experimenting. The other competitors excelled at using their powers, utilizing them in such complex ways. He needed to reach their level and beyond. To control Shadow Bender as if it was his fingers.

"Izuku!" his mother knocked at his door, rather frenetically. She entered looking at the edge of a panic attack. "Izuku! This just arrived. From UA!"

She handed him a letter. It was strange how he felt more collected than her. She left the room, wanting to give him privacy. After a moment of mental preparation, which he still felt wasn't enough , he opened to package. It was disc-like device, a holo-viewer. The object projected a holographic video. It was Mr. Toshinori Yagi!

"_Hello, young Midoriya._" the gaunt man smiled. "_I'm here as an employee of UA to give you your Entrance Exam results..."_

"Mr. Yagi is an employee at UA!?" Izuku was agape. He did recall the man saying his work schedule would be changing in the near future.

Video clips of his performance on the practical exam were displayed.

"_You have performed well in both the written and practical parts of the exam." _Mr. Yagi frowned in disapointment. _"Unfortunately, with thirteen villain points, you're just below the average required to pass. I regret to tell you, it is not enough. Please, young Midoryia, do not be distraught. See this a motivation to better yourself. The abilities you've displayed show you still have much to learn, my boy."_

Izuku felt his heart stop. At the bottom of his mind, he knew this outcome was most likely. He had scored very low and it was lucky Shadow Bender was very suitable against those mechs. Otherwise, he might have been unable to win any points, at all. He tried his best, did barely good enough, and failed.

"_However, a more important thing you should know._" Mr. Yagi's grim features disappeared and he displayed another video. It was the nice girl. She was asking Present Mic if the 'boy with curly green hair and freckles' could have some of her points for saving her. Wait, she was talking about him?! "_This young lady wanted to give you some of her points for your courageous act. What kind of hero course doesn't take into account selflessness and bravery? That is why we have a secret scoring system."_

A scoreboard appeared. It had two columns; 'villain points' and 'rescue points'. The name 'Izuku Midoriya' was in 3th place, with 60 points on the second column. The highest in that category amongst all the contestants.

"_Rejoice__, Izuku Midoriya! You have shown the raw potential to be a hero. You have been accepted into UA. This is your hero academia._"

* * *

**This chapter didn't have much development. It was just to show two things. One; that Izuku was more confident and better at fighting since he had practice with his quirk, unlike in cannon where he didn't even tested it on the beach. Two; his quirk still has potential for other uses, and must be imaginative on how to use them. Now he's learn (with great pain) that he can use his shadows to transport himself. That is something that Selim/Pride in the show never did. When he fought, his body was always stationary while his shadows did the thing**.


	4. Black Lies and Eyes

"_**Italic**_**" - thoughts**

_**Italic text**_** \- Izuku narrating.**

**I don't use the traditional japanese honorifics, nor do I introduce people with the family name first. But the teachers will be addressed as 'sensei'. **

**Le055Li0n - **If he uses Shadow Bender for 5 minutes and takes a 5 minute break, he can use it for full time, again.

**N3k0s4 - **Shadow Bender is the same as Selim, however it doesn't have mouths nor eyes...yet. Because Izuku kept his quirk concealed for years so it's weakened. But now it will slowly awaken and become stronger. As for the eating people... yes he can do that. But pray that our cinnamon roll will never find out. It would horrify him.

**OnlineOverlord15 -** the ultimate spear/shield are references to the powers of the homunculi Lust and Greed from FMA. It doesn't imply they are Izuku's ultimate moves. Though, after this chapter, you'll see they're not so ultimate.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Black eyes and lies**

_April had arrived and a new chapter in my life began. Today many things would change. Among them, I would meet my two best friends... to whom I'd soon after lie about my quirk._

Izuku finished tying up his shoes. He wore the new school uniform, provided by UA. Took him a handful of minutes to tie a necktie, and it still looked a bit short and stubby. He let it go. It was the best he could do, for now.

"Son, do you have your hankerchief? Did you forget?"

"I have it, mom. Don't worry." Izuku tried his best not to sound upset. His mom was worried about every little thing he had to take with him on his first day of school. Which was a considerable lot.

"Well, I'm off. Better get going, or I'm gonna be late."

"Izuku." he turned, mentally praying it wasn't about another thing he had to take. She smiled. "Son, I just want you to know, you are very cool."

Izuku fell a warm wave of hope in him. He smiled back. "Thanks mom. I love you."

* * *

The school grounds of UA were vaster than any other hero course school in the country, and were located atop a hill on the outskirts of Musutafu. Even catching the train in the nick of time, Izuku arrived a bit late. He was lucky enough to find a cleaning automaton in the deserted halls that instructed him where to find Classroom 1-A.

"That's a big door. Probably to allow passage of large students who can't deactivate their quirks." Izuku took a tentative step inside, hoping he wouldn't find either Kacchan or the mean glasses guy. Those hopes were bashed the moment he spotted the two exchanging words.

"You are soiling the school's property used by our upperclassmen with your shoes. Remove them off the table!" the mean glasses boy ordered dramatically, while making gestures with his arms.

"Make me!" Kacchan retorted with a smug smirk. "And who are you supposed to be, Glasses?"

The glasses boy put a hand on his chest, making a formal introduction. "I am Tenya Iida. I attended the Somei Private Academy."

While Kacchan proceeded to threaten to crush the taller one, Izuku subtly tried to search for a place to sit. To his chagrin there was only one in the boys' side, and it was right behind Kacchan.

"_My luck sucks!_" he thought miserably. To add the cherry on top of the radioactive, bitter cake, both sources of his misery became aware of him.

"You!" the mean glasses guy approached him and...bowed? "I owe you an apology!"

"Uh?"

He stood up and declared while making more gestures. "You realized there was a secret scoring system to the exam. I was wrong to publicly humiliate someone who clearly had a better perception than I did. As much as it pains me to admit, you have surpassed me," the glasses boy halted, struck by hesitance. "I'm sorry, I never got your name."

"Oh, I'm Izuku Midoriya."

"My pleasure. I am Tenya Iida."

Izuku was conflicted. He truly wanted to admit he had no idea there was a secret scoring system, yet he didn't want Iida to revert back to his mean persona.

"Oh, it's you again! The plain looking one!" it was the nice, pretty chestnut-haired girl, again. She smiled radiantly and began chatting, nonstop. "I'm so glad you passed, too. Can you believe there was a secret scoreboard? I was so relieved. The way you sliced that Zero-point monster was amazing!" she made a slicing motion with his arm for emphasys.

All of Izuku's blood travelled north. He stammered unable to respond to her praising.

"... and you shadows are so cool!"

That made him freeze his stammering and he finally uttered something coherent. "Y-you think my shadows are _c-cool_?"

"If you want to play around and make friends, go to the playground." a dull, lifeless voice cut through the mood despite its complete lack of energy. "This is the hero course, for training heroes."

Izuku stared stunned to _something _lying on the floor, that _somehow _had managed to sneak by without anyone noticing. It resembled a... man-sized yellow caterpillar?

It was actually a man in a sleeping bag. He got out of his makeshift cocoon and introduced himself to the dumbfounded class as Shota Aizawa, their homeroom teacher. Izuku couldn't help but be skeptical this weary, frail, unkempt man was a pro-hero and a teacher. Judging by the looks of other students, he wasn't the only one thinking that.

"It took you eight minutes to quiet down. That's no good. You kids are too irrational."

Aizawa had them put on uniforms for physical education and go to the field. He announced the first class would be a quirk assessment test, a string of physical fitness tests where they would be allowed to use their quirks.

Bakugo, as the number 1 in the entrance exam, was called to make an example in a ball throw exercise with his maximum effort. He launched his ball with a blast while screaming his catchphrase.

(Who screams 'DIE' to a ball, anyways?)

The teacher showed the score: 705,2 meters. That got the class excited. Thrilled comments flew around. Then everything changed when a pink girl said the test would be fun.

"'It looks fun'?" the teacher's dark tone cut through the light mood. This time it wasn't just tired. The man's demeanour turned dark and merciless. "You have only three years to become fully fledged pro-heroes. Do you intend to go through all of that with such an easy-going attitude?"

He smirked viciously. "So be it, then. Whoever scores the lowest will be deemed unsuitable to be a hero and expelled on the spot. Welcome, boys and girls, to the hero course."

Izuku gulped. Already a great barrier to climb over on the first day?! And to make matters worse, he couldn't think of any way his quirk could give him a definite advantage on the tests he recalled from junior high.

"These tests are not just meant to know your maximum. They double to verify how inventive you can be with your quirks on the fly." it could be Izuku's imagination, but he felt the teacher's gaze lingered on him a bit longer than it did on everyone else.

* * *

**Test 1: 50-meter dash**

For the first test, Izuku quickly came up with a way to use his shadows as a form of simple catapult. The darkness twisted behind him and he used them to launch himself as much as he could forward. Since it was a running exercise, Izuku couldn't throw himself too far. It only served to give him a good starting point. And it still did no good against Kacchan, who used his explosions to basically fly himself to the finish line.

Time: 5,98 seconds

Izuku sighed. "_Not much of an improvement. Probably it was more thanks to the physical training under Mr. Toshinori._" he turned around only to find Kacchan glaring daggers at him. He flinched and turned back.

* * *

**Test 2: Grip strength**

"Wow!" Izuku blinked at the three digits on his grip machine, held by the shadow tendril.

Result: 110 kg

"_So that's how much strength my shadows have._" he was pleasantly surprised to see a favorable result. He was even more relieved to know he came in 3rd place on this test. Second was a tall, bulky boy named Sato whose quirk gave him super-strength by eating sugar. First place went for the multi-armed guy named Shoji with a whooping 540 kg!

* * *

**Test 3: Long-standing jump**

The following exercise was jumping over a long sandbox. And Izuku could almost smile.

He did the same trick as the dash test. Only much larger. Since the third test was a jump, he could catapult himself much higher. Before, he made small shadows that only touched the bottom of his shoes. This time the darkness morphed into something greater. It held onto his legs and back. Two strong tentacles stretched forward and grabbed the sides on the ground. All in all, he looked like a human projectile about to be fired from a giant slingshot.

So focused Izuku had been on making his work, he momentarily forgot he had an audience.

"Wow, look at that!"

"He can make shadows do whatever he wants."

Such comments flew around and made Izuku hesitate. On the first test his shadow bending was minimal and barely noticeable. On the second, most were paying attention to the six-armed boy. Now every eye was on him, including the nice girl he met on the entrance exam who was cheering. Unsurprisingly, Izuku was a little overwhelmed.

Aizawa walked up behind him and groaned in that dull but scary mood of his. "Are you going to stand there all day long?"

Izuku cringed. Without giving a reply, he jumped and the slingshot released him. Once his body lost contact with the ground, the shadows died, like figures of dust collapsing in the wind. But the momentum was just enough to throw their creator over the sandbox. His landing wasn't perfect. He landed on his feet but lost balance and almost fell on his back. Thanks to quick reflexes, his shadows held him steady and prevent the fall.

"That was amazing!" the nice girl approached. "I thought your shadows could only cut things."

"A rather clever use of your quirk." Tenya Iida added, nodding repeatedly.

In the background, Bakugou seemed to be on the edge of a rage fit. His hands sparked with tiny fireworks, his posture like an animal ready to pounce. His frame gave off rage. But the look in his eyes wasn't of fury. They were the fearful eyes of a cornered animal.

* * *

The following tests included, repeated side-steps, long-distance run, sit-ups and seated toe-touch. None of which Izuku scored an extraordinary result. In the last two, the darkness complemented his strength to flex his body, but nothing much. He could only count on his physical fitness.

In the end, the greenette was immensely relieved to find himself in 15th place. And so was a short kid named Minoru Mineta when Aizawa revealed the threat of expulsion was just a 'rational lie to draw out their best performances'.

"You will all have a report detailing your short-commings, soon. Look at the results as a motivation, because there will be even more rigorous training coming." the teacher paused. His black eyes travelled to Izuku, who covered slightly underneath. "Midoriya, step forward."

The boy did so, ignoring the twinge of nerves he felt by being so close to the man. Suddenly, the bandages around his neck came alive and wrapped tightly around Izuku's torso. He cried out as did some of the students at the unexpected attack.

"Try to cut yourself free with your shadows." the teacher commanded without preambles. It took a moment for Izuku to swallow his surprise and do as commanded. But when he fired a sharpened string of darkness, nothing happened. Nothing but the stinging pain the shadow projected into his neural system, as it collided with the unexpectedly unbreakable fabric.

Aizawa withdrew his bandages and looked the student coldly in the eye. "I watched your performance in the entrance exam. You did well cutting down a few mindless buckets of bolts with your quirk. You called that move your 'Ultimate Spear', as I recall. It may have served you well against hard metals, but my equipment is made of carbon fiber and a combination of hard alloys woven together. If I were a villain hellbent on killing you, your 'ultimate spear' wouldn't be so ultimate. And neither would your ultimate shield."

Izuku was agape. "_He's right. Against the zero pointer, I was lucky. My plan could have gone horribly wrong. All I can do with Shadow Bender is so basic. Cutting, pushing, defending...Even the slingshot just now wasn't perfect."_ Izuku thought ruefully.

"If you can't evolve your quirk, you'll never reach far. I can see you haven't had much experience with it." Aizawa noted. Izuku gasped silently:

"_Does he know...Mr. Yagi! He said he'd be working at UA! Did he tell Aizawa-sensei?_"

The tired man's penetrating glare disappeared and he returned to his tired demeanour before releasing Izuku. "Hit the showers. Class dismissed."

* * *

As he walked out of UA, Izuku bent his neck sideways, earning a couple of satisfying cricks. "I feel like a rag. And it was just the first day." It wasn't the physical strain, he had endured much worse on Dagobah beach. It was the mental stress that weightened him down.

"_Just my first day and I already got a creepy teacher breathing down my neck and feared I was going to be expelled._" he sighed. "_But then again, he was right, wasn't he? That lie did push me to try beyond my best. Plus I am still raw when it comes to my quirk. I need to figure out a better way to use it. Come up with new tricks, strategies. Since my shadow can't cut through carbon fiber…_"

"Midoriya!" it was Tenya Iida. He approached him and asked politely if they could walk together. Izuku agreed.

_In just that first class I found Tenya Iida wasn't bad at all. He was just had a great conviction to become the best hero he possibly could and he expected those around him to do the same. He strove to do his best in any situation in a super-serious fashion. Even at the moment, I couldn't imagine he'd become one of my closest friends._

Iida confessed he was surprised with Aizawa sensei's deception, though in hindsight it made perfect sense. He began a one-sided conversation on his detailed opinion of the class while making hand gestures.

"UA and its staff have rather unorthodox methods, but I'm beginning to believe that is why they are the top hero course school. They don't follow a traditional path and it's likely a wise strategy. On real pro-hero life, enemy villains could come with any kind of quirk, in any circumstance. I believe the school's main preoccupation is to teach us how to better react to unforeseen scenarios…"

"Hey, you two! Are you headed for the station?" it was the nice girl with a gravity quirk. She caught up to them and introduced herself as Ochaco Uraraka. The boys introduced themselves in return.

"Midoriya, I never got to thank you for your rescue."

"Uh, you kinda did this morning." he reminded her, his cheeks heating up.

She giggled awkwardly. "Yeah, I guess I did. But I was chatting nonstop and didn't even let you speak. I'm sorry. I sometimes talk myself out."

They made their way out of the school grounds in blissful conversation. Izuku found himself gradually more at ease with his two classmates. They spoke honestly when he asked a question and didn't jeer or ignore his own opinions.

"_This is what feels like having actual friends?_"

"That was a cool trick you did with your shadow slingshot, Midoriya!"

Uraraka's compliment brought something to Iida's attention. He put his hand on his chin. "There's something I've been meaning to ask. I witnessed your struggle against the Zero-pointer from the sidelines. Why didn't you use that slingshot maneuver to launch yourself upwards. It seemed far more effective than what you did in the entrance exam."

Instantly, his good disposition diminished. "Uh, in the exam I was in a panic and couldn't think of anything better. Today, I was a bit calmer and had time to come up with the slingshot." he wanted to kick himself for sounding so lame.

"So the maneuver you used today was something completely new." Iida frowned. "Midoriya, was Aizawa sensei correct when he said you don't have much experience with your quirk? If so, why is that?"

On that instant it became hard for Izuku to draw a new breath.

"_What do I say? If I tell them I didn't use my quirk at all until ten months ago, they'll ask why! And then I'll have to tell them that...my quirk is…_" a cold grip clenched his heart. His hands trembled. "_If they know what Shadow Bender does to me if I over use it...They won't talk to me again. They'll think I'm..._"

His memory went back to his old school. Everyone looking down on him, not giving him the time of day, believing he was quirkless. It would be just like that...no, it would be even worse!

Izuku memory travelled further back, recalling another boy who used to be his best friend. After the accident, said boy became the greatest torment in his life.

"Midoriya!" Iida shook him, firm but gentle. The greenette returned to reality to find both classmates giving him concerned stares. "You became oblivious, suddenly. Is everything alright?"

Izuku mumbled incoherent things.

"Didn't you hear Iida asking if you had experience?" Uraraka said, thinking he was confused because he didn't hear that question.

"I was...a l-late bloomer!" he stammered. "My quirk didn't manifest until about a year ago!" only too late did he realized what he just said.

"You're a late bloomer? As in, your quirk only manifested recently? That is a rarity, but I've heard not impossible." Iida said thoughtfully.

"That makes it even more amazing. You've had so little time to train your power, but you still did well." Uraraka smiled warmly.

Izuku put on a fragile smile. Internally, he felt horrible.

_On that day I made my first two friends. And the first thing I did was lie to them about the darkness I have for a quirk._

* * *

**Funfact: On FMA:B, Pride couldn't cut Ed's northern automail since it made made of carbon fiber and other materials harder and more resilient than ordinary steels.**

**Notes for the future:**

**As Izuku's quirk is trained, it will become stronger and more similar to Pride (including the eyes and mouths). Eventually, Izuku will change 'Shadow Bender' to 'Pride', but that for the Camp Training.**

**Next chapter, we get a combat and flashback episode. And an eye on every shadow. Wink!**


	5. Black Memories PART I

**Lord Leonidas – **No it's not wrong at all. Speaking of said eye, just read it. You must understand, Izuku's quirk has been suppressed for years and only now has he started liberating it. There are attributes to it left to unbury.

**Izuku has more reasons to beat Kacchan in this AU than in canon.**

* * *

Class 1-A soon found the second day at the prestigious UA to be quite anticlimactic when compared to the first. Despite being known for its hero curriculum, even the hero course had regular classes like English, Math and the like. Such were scheduled for the morning.

"_This doesn't feel so different from junior high classes._" Izuku thought and he bet many of his classmates were thinking the same. He took these classes with every bit of drive as he took to hero training.

Sure, they didn't feel as bland as ordinary classes, when you had a pro-hero teaching you. The entire staff of UA was composed of pro-heroes, active or former. Izuku took delight in naming every new staff member he came across. Among those was the chef was Lunch Rush, the Cook Hero. He made the best katsudon Izuku had ever eaten! The meal was made even better when, to Izuku's surprise, Uraraka and Iida invited him to sit with them.

"Do you think it's true what the upperclassmen are rumoring about? That All Might is a teacher here?"

Izuku choked on a mouthful of delicious katsudon, but was saved by Iida's diligent hand slapping his back. One able to breath safely, he thanked the taller boy for the gesture and questioned Uraraka about the veracity of said rumor.

"I overheard some thirdyears about having a hero training class with All Might." She shrugged in an apologetic way. "I'm not the gossiping type, so I didn't probe it."

"All Might is a teacher at UA? Just like Mr. Yagi! But he never mentioned that. In fact, Mr. Yagi rarely spoke about All Might, unless I asked him." The muttering youth gazed up to see his two friends eyeing him strangely. His cheeks heated up and he awkwardly apologized. "Sorry, I tend to do that."

Uraraka waved him off, playfully, while Iida remarked respectfully that habit of his could be distracting.

"Anyways, wouldn't be cool to have All Might as a teacher?" Uraraka returned to topic on track.

"Indeed. It would be a very enriching experience to learn from the best pro-hero. Truly what to expect from UA."

Izuku's whole face lit up like a child given all the candy he could eat. His body softly glowed with the warmth of a tiny sun. "Having All Might teaching me, as a student at UA. It's like an angel took my greatest dream and elevated it to the heavens!"

The daydreaming boy soon came down to earth with great embarrassment when his mind reminded him, he had an audience. Fortunately for him, Iida took that episode as an acceptable display of Izuku's noble admiration for a great hero and saluted him for it. Ochaco giggled cutely in amusement, playfully accusing him of being a 'diehard fanboy'.

The greenette timidly admitted to her accusation while rubbing the back of his head. "W-well…yeah, I am. All Might was my inspiration to become a pro-hero. I even met him once, after he saved me from a sludge villain, a few months back." he shortly described the assault and how All Might (sort of) introduced him to Toshinori Yagi, who helped him train his quirk.

Iida made a sound like he just realized something. "Of course, that makes sense. You told us your quirk only manifested recently. I suppose you had to have had a trainer to help you reach your current level, Midoriya."

That statement made the half-forgotten nail of shame stab deeper into Izuku's stomach. Now he recalled the lie he fed to them both about his quirk; that Shadow Bender only appeared recently and not that Izuku had feared it for most of his life because of its drawback. Because said drawback would make them fear him and push him away. He would be the outcast of his class, again. Only this time for a different, darker, more truthful reason.

Iida continued. There was something in his steely look when he looked at Izuku. It looked like…respect. Maybe even, admiration? "Midoriya, truly you are a worthy hero-in-training and classmate. Despite having very little experience with your quirk, you still embraced your goal to be a hero and trained yourself to reach your current level. Also, you realized the secret of the entrance exam and didn't hesitate to save Uraraka. Truthfully, you have the spirit of a true pro."

Izuku wouldn't dare to look Iida in the eye. After years of being told he couldn't be a hero, by all those who thought him to be quirkless, Iida's speech was almost as elevating as All Might when he said his quirk wasn't evil. If only he knew…

"You're wrong, Iida." He murmured without meaning to. Too late to take it back, now. He faced up to their confused expressions, not knowing what to say next. The lie was eating at him, but he couldn't bear to live with the consequences of telling the truth… "I…I never knew about the secret scoring system until the results were announced." He finally spilled the truth, only not the truth he feared so much. "…I didn't know anything about rescue points. I just saw Uraraka was in danger and…I just acted." He lowered his gaze. Now the nail of shame pierced even further in. He continued to hide his big lie by telling another, smaller truth.

Iida's hand firmly grabbed his shoulder and Izuku hesitantly looked at him. "Midoriya, my friend, by saying those words…my respect for you has only increased."

"Uh?"

"You tell me now, you had no idea saving Uraraka would solidify your spot, but you still did it, nonetheless."

"I just didn't want her to get hurt." The greenette explained himself, needlessly.

"You saved me, Midoriya, believing it would do you no good." Uraraka smiled sweetly at him. Was it him, or did her cheeks look more pink than usual? "If that's now true heroism, I don't know what it is. Thank you."

Izuku from one to the other, astonished. His heart warmed at their praise but that only made the shame more intense. He thanked them meekly and after a while a new topic of conversation surged. The greenette didn't partake in it.

* * *

_I came to realize for the top, most arduous hero school in the country, UA could also be bland. In the morning we had regular classes. Those were the bland part. The afternoons were filled with Basic Hero Training._

"I AM COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"

Izuku dropped his pencil. All Might, clad in his Silver Age uniform, famous in his career days in the USA between 2112 and 2127, just announced himself as a teacher to Class 1-A. Murmurs of astonishment circled around the classroom, but were unheard by the shadow-puppeteer. Why? Because his heart just abruptly stopped and he fell from his desk, dead.

As the shocked classmates and teacher surrounded the body, they couldn't see his soul rising from it and being ingulfed in light. Izuku glanced up to a figure descending, obfuscated by the light. It was a humanoid with wings. Was it the Pro-Hero Hawks?

"Hello, Izu-kun!" it was Uraraka! She smiled sweetly and grasped his face with soft hands. "You have died. But don't feel bad. Welcome to heaven."

He closed his eyes blissfully as the light swallowed him whole and…

Okay, enough joking around. Back to the _real_ plot.

All Might introduced himself (rather needlessly) as responsible for teaching Basic Hero Training. Under his wing, they would learn the fundamentals of how pros operate. And on their first lesson, class got the bomb dropped on them that they were in for actual combat.

Each class member was given a heavy, armored suitcase containing the hero attire that the Support Department had designed for them, based on their own sketches and specifications. In the male's changing room, Izuku looked down at his own dark greenish outfit for a thoughtful moment. His mom had sent his doodles to UA. It warmed his heart knowing his mom had such confidence in him.

He walked into the sunlight, feeling both nervous and daring. He was a student at UA, trying out his hero outfit. Being taught by All Might, himself! A year ago, he could only believe such a scene was from a dream. It was literally a dream come true.

(How quickly can a dream become a nightmare?)

"Green sure is your color, Midoriya!" Uraraka commented out of nowhere, making him blush instantly. Said blush intensified when he stared at the skin-tight pink jumpsuit she wore.

"T-thank you! Your outfit looks good, too."

She gave a more critical scan to his. "You know, Midoriya. Capes are normally for heroes who like to show off. You don't really seem the type. No offense." Her apology was a bit flustered.

Izuku's hero costume was a dark green shaded suite, like his hair. It included a long cape that reached between his ankles and knees. Strangely enough, it sported what appeared to be long bunny-like ears. Other features included a special watch that monitored the activity of his quirk and a flat lamp mounted on the back of his head.

He divulged. "The cape works with the lamp. It emits light on my back and the cape makes my shadow bigger. That way, I have more darkness to work with and don't have to expand my shadow to make something big."

"That's so smart."

All Might called everyone's attention. His first class would skip any kind of basic training and jump straight to combat. A pair of teams of two, one playing the role of villains and the other the heroes, would duke it out inside a makeshift building. The villain team would be hidden at the top floor, in possession of a faux bomb to destroy the city with. The hero duo would enter the building and try to reach the bomb, deactivating it by touch. If they failed to do so before 30 minutes passed, the bomb would figuratively detonate, killing the entire city and the villains would win. Not that would be much of a victory in real life, if the would-be villains are also blown up.

It came as a pleasant surprise him and Uraraka would be on the same team. Then came two unpleasant ones: that they were to play the villains and Kacchan would be on the opposing hero team. The villain team would enter first. Before the actual battle started, they'd be allowed a five-minute planning period.

"Young Uraraka, Young Midoriya, take this exercise as an opportunity to learn how villains think." All Might advised before the two entered the building.

"YES, SIR!" Izuku nodded repeatedly.

"Deku!" Izuku turned around startled to see Kacchan clenching his fist menacingly. "I'm gonna annihilate you!"

Izuku gulped and hurried inside after Uraraka. They climbed up a flight of stairs, using a map of the layout provided by All Might.

"Don't you think it's a bit disappointing that we're the villains?" she asked out of nowhere.

Izuku shrugged and spoke analytically. "A little, but it was a completely random selection. Somebody had to be the villains. Besides, All Might was right; we should learn how villains think."

She agreed to that and then posed another question.

"Why did Bakugo call you 'Deku'?"

Caught unprepared, Izuku stammered. "Uh…I-it's a nickname Kacchan came up with. Because…may quirk manifested late, he thought I was quirkless, so…" he let that hang.

"I think it sounds like 'you can do it'." She smiled sweetly and Izuku couldn't look her without his face heating up. Before he could think, his mouth spoke for him and said she could call him 'Deku' if she wished it so.

At the top floor rested the bomb, designed after a comical rocket. They still had a few minutes to plan.

"Kacchan will come rushing after me. If I go first, I can pin him down there. Then you only have to worry about Iida."

"Or we could intercept them together." Uraraka argued. "The purpose of the exercise is also to teach teamwork."

Izuku shook his head. "Kacchan's quirk is quite destructive. If he gets here, he could potentially destroy the bomb and this space is to not big enough for a fight. They would lose by default, but I don't think that's a good way to win." In truth, he wanted this opportunity to learn something new and prove himself. "The other option would be us intercepting them together…"

She caught his train of thought. "But with Iida's speed, there's no way we can leave the bomb unguarded."

It was agreed; Izuku would move in advance and try to keep Bakugo away on the lower floors. As luck would have it, the only way to the fifth floor was through a single flight of stairs. Said stairs began at the end of a hall. Izuku would make his stand on that spot. Uraraka had plenty of debris to keep Iida at bay. Just to be safe, Izuku would add additional barriers to the speedster's advance.

"Deku." She called him out before he left and hoisted her fist high. "You can do it! Plus Ultra!"

Izuku smiled with tainted cheeks. Someone cheered for him! He reciprocated the salute, albeit with a stammer or two in between and walked a bit too fast for his appointed spot.

Izuku used his shadows to demolish the entrance to the fifth floor, at the top of the stairs. He repeated the process at the bottom, cutting the only passage on both ends.

The moment he dismissed his shadows, there was a chime from the watch-like device on his wrist.

"_Fourteen seconds. Excellent!" _the Support Department sure excelled at their business. The watch was a chronometer that started counting whenever he activated his quirk. When he deactivated it, the watched began counting backwards until it reached zero. Izuku requested it to keep track of his 20-minute limit and avoid the repercussions of overusing Shadow-bender.

A chill went up his spine, remembering that first and last time…

He slapped his cheeks. Snap out of it! This time was different. This time he understood his quirk better. He had worked hard to get here. He had studied Kacchan's quirk and fighting style. There were people who hoped for him. This time, when facing Kacchan, he would prove he can be a hero.

"Plus Ultra!" he whispered to himself. "I can do it!"

* * *

He didn't have to wait long. The moment All Might announced the start of the test, Izuku heard a faint explosion echoing through the building. Then there was the noise akin to jet propulsion becoming increasingly louder.

"_Here it comes._" Izuku swallowed.

"DEKU!"

On instinct, the blackness sprouted from the floor and made a barrier between Izuku and the explosion of the suddenly arrived Bakugo, from a corner. From Izuku's many unpleasant experiences, Katsuki Bakugo always starts with a right swing coupled with explosion. Izuku's ultimate shield blocked any impact, sparing him from the heat and the force of the explosion. Nonetheless, Izuku cringed in pain but stood his ground.

_Even though my Ultimate Shield can block any impact or damage, it's still a part of me. I may take no damage, but I still feel the pain._

Bakugo jumped back, his attack foiled. He glared with wide eyes at the darkness encompassing his hated enemy, amplified by the light atop his head.

"You quirkless scum! I'm gonna blow you apart!"

Izuku didn't bother to argue he wasn't quirkless. It never worked in his favor, anyways.

* * *

_I've known Kacchan for years. Every time I say I do have a quirk, he would scowl and attack me. And in those rare occasions I'd dare to try to show him, his reaction was even worse._

_It wasn't always like that, though. When we were kindergarteners, his quirks manifested earlier than mine. I always thought him to be cool! When I first manifested Shadow-bender, he admitted mine was cool (not as much as his, as he kept reminding me.)_

_The two us were part of the 'Bakugo Hero Agency'. He was always on the lead. Even then, Bakugo was…difficult. I offered him help, but he always shut me down, saying he doesn't need my or anyone help. He was the best. I accepted that._

_As time passed and he got better control over his quirk, Kacchan began stating that he was the best of the best quite vocally. And eventually, quite violently. Once, a boy a bit taller than us challenged him in the background. Kacchan quickly beat him up, left him crying on the ground. I couldn't stand for that. I put myself between the boy and my best friend._

"_Kacchan, leave him alone, please!"_

_"Deku, you're still pretending to be a hero?"_

_"If you don't stop bullying others...I'll fight you." I remember being scared of him. Initially, Kacchan admitted my quirk was good enough. But after I announced I wanted to be a hero, his opinion changed radically. Suddenly, my quirk wasn't even 'good enough' for him._

_"As if! Your stupid quirk is just as scared as you are." Bakugo attacked, followed by his 'lieutenants'. Kouji Hasegawa, with a quirk of extending fingers and Satoshi Akato, with a mutant-type that sprouted red wings on his back. That was the first quirk battle I was a part of. I remember getting some bruisers. Fighting three at once is not easy, regardless of age. I only used my shadows to defend myself. Despite my claim, I didn't want to fight my friends._

_The victimized boy had ran away, so they all made me the new target. I remember less and less from that point on. As time passed, my memories of the event become…literally darker. Like the light of the sun gradually went out and night arrived sooner._

_The next thing I remember, I woke up in a hospital bed with singed arms and my mom crying beside me. Kacchan was on another room in the same hospital, as were the other two. Worst of all was the flying boy, Akato._

_I asked what happened. Mom couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead a mean-looking doctor explained they had learnt of a particularity of my quirk; its horrid drawback._

"_It seems your sons' quirk causes a change in his behavior." He spoke like I wasn't even there. "From the descriptions of the other youths, Izuku never demonstrated any aggressive behavior before, correct?"_

_Mom nodded firmly. "He was always a nice boy."_

"_Today was the exception to the rule, apparently. His records state only recently his quirk manifested. And I take it he never used it as extensively as today."_

_At the time, I wasn't aware what was going on. But I could tell I had done something very bad. Afterwards, mom confirmed it. She never gave me details, divulging only that I had hurt Kacchan and the others. Until today I don't know exactly how it happened._

_After I was let out of the hospital, everything changed. A man in a black suite came to visit us the day we returned home. He had mom sign a few papers. Only years later I understood what they were; responsibility orders. Citizens with quirks that are considered dangerous are more strictly punished than others if they use them wrongfully. As a minor, if I ever did something bad with Shadow-bender again, my mom would deal with the consequences._

_Another demand of the documents was that we moved away and I was transferred to a different kindergarten. This was put forward by Satoshi Akato's family, the boy with the flying quirk. It still appalls me that I did _that_ to him._

_I didn't see Kacchan for a few years until we enrolled in the same school, again. He had surrounded himself with new lieutenants. He recognized me right away, for I tried to approach him, but he wouldn't talk to me. When I persisted, he would attack me without a word. I wanted to apologize for whatever I did. His response, though… _

"_You're sorry? You think I need your apology? I could've handled anything he threw at me."_

"_I just wanted to apologize for hurting you and…"_

_Kacchan pushed me down, angrily. "You think you can hurt me?! Just bring out your quirk! I'll show you!" his palms sparked, yet trembled._

"_I can't." I was told not to use my quirk again, which I followed to the letter._

_From then on, Kacchan branded me 'quirkless' and 'Deku'._

* * *

Back in present time, Izuku and Kacchan were having a stare down. Having quickly reflected on the past, Izuku spoke what he had wished to say for so long.

"Kacchan, I never tried to challenge you or usurp you. I firmly believed you could be the best. I admired you." He paused. "But now, I will fight you. To prove to you and to myself I can be a hero. If that's what it takes to put the past behind me, and no longer be haunted by my own power."

_This was another reason why I insisted to Uraraka I had to fight Kacchan alone. Truthfully, I didn't want to. But since I began using Shadow-bender again without any incidents, I couldn't help but think of the past that made me keep it locked up. Try as I might, I couldn't remember what I did that day. Maybe that's for the best._

_But now that I'm starting a new chapter in UA, and with the support of friends and my mom, I decided I couldn't let the past to rot. I want to try and mend bridges with Kacchan. Sadly, he will never listen to my words. The only language in understands is fighting. So fight him, I will._

Kacchan scowled. "I'm gonna beat you up so bad, you won't be able to spout stupid shit like that ever again!" He presented both gloved palms opened for an opening attack.

A quickly increasing noise of a speeding engine invaded the room. Tenya Iida, cladded in a pristine armor, made his entrance by graciously skidding to a halt in a pose. And he spoke with less seriousness and far more drama than he was known for.

"There you are, villain! Your days of indulging in crime are numbered! The two of us, fellow heroes, will see that you answer for all the wrongdoings you have done."

The whole mood between the two rivals was killed in an instant by the engine quirk-user's overly dramatic rant.

"_Iida, are you trying to sound like a Pro in battle?_" Izuku sweatdropped. Bakugo just scowled.

"Just go after the bomb, Glasses! Deku is mine. If you interfere, you'll get the same." He lighted up his palms for emphasis. Iida held back the urge to berate him and opted to play along.

"Very well, my comrade. Brave of you to pin this foul lowlife here while I secure the bomb. Best of luck."

Iida took off with a burst, seemingly undisturbed by the amount of rubble blocking off the stairs. He raced into it head on, the kinetic force he carried with such speed enough to break through the debris like tissue paper.

"_Guess my roadblocks won't slow him down at all_." Izuku would love to marvel at that feat and calculate just how much it took to do it, but now was hardly the time.

As expected, Kacchan took the offensive again. He put his hands behind him and used them as rockets to fly himself in a fury towards him. Izuku launched three tendrils to stop him, but Kacchan expertly evaded them. A fourth shadow expanded in a barrier, putting a stop to the blonde's onslaught.

Kacchan growled in anger and directed his rocket palms down, flying him higher and over the barrier. Izuku wasn't quick enough to raise his shield up.

"DIE!" the savage hero-in-training prepared an open palm.

"_When attacking from above, Kacchan prepares a blast to deliver at point-blank_."

The controller of shadows dodged, having predicted the blow, had one tendril of darkness about to grasp his wrist in midair and change the aim of the explosion.

But Katsuki Bakugo could learn, too. He used his other hand to blast said tentacle, keeping it from the other hand. Izuku instinctively dodged to the side, but it was too close. The back of his cowl was singed. Izuku quickly put some distance between the two.

"_I have to stay away from him. His attacks are more destructive at close-range and my shadows work best at long-range._" He analyzed Kacchan who hesitated. "_He knows I can evade and lure him into traps. My best option is to immobilize his hands and he knows that now. He'll become more cautious_."

Izuku had but two options. "_I could continue on the defensive and try to trap him, but that's what he'll be expecting. I could take the initiative and go offensive. It might keep him under pressure, make him throw caution to the wind. If he makes a reckless counter-attack and lowers his guard…_"

Kacchan's palm sparked and Izuku instantly made his choice. He called for his Ultimate Spear in the form of two tendrils fast and sharp as arrows.

**Time using the quirk: 10 minutes**

**Powerful Counter: 17 minutes left**

* * *

In the observation room, class 1-A watched the fight through multiple HD screens. There were three types among the audience: the silent observers, the commenters and the analysts. The first group included Todoroki Shoto, Koda Koji and Shoji Mezou who kept their opinions to themselves.

"Wow, Midoriya just got serious." Sero Hanta **(Quirk: Tape)** was among the commenters, his helmet doing little to disguise his amazement, since his voice gave it away.

"Clearly he saw he had no advantage in keeping on the defensive. Bakugo realized what Midoriya's strategy was, so he changed it. Now he's going on the offensive, keeping Bakugo only reacting and not acting. Midoriya is attempting to make him to commit a mistake. Then he'll try to trap him." Chief among the analysts was Momo Yaoyorozu **(Quirk: Creation)**, who carried herself with a dignified posture of a no-nonsense youth.

"Still, not only they have strong quirks, especially Bakugo. They're also good at predicting each other's moves." A spiky, red-haired boy with shark-like teeth noted. Between that and his hero outfit, he had a savage appearance that didn't seem to be his real self. He was Eijiro Kirishima **(Quirk: Hardening).**

Another person added her two cents with a croak. "It seems to me those two have a history." A girl with a hunchback pose and big, round eyes retorted. Tsuyu Asui **(Quirk: Frog). **"I noticed they shared quite a few looks since Mr. Aizawa's class. That's probably why they read each other's tactics so well."

The teacher had his own ponderations over the exercise concerning the same battle. The words of his students told him none of them knew of the green-haired boy's secret. "_Young Midoriya, you told no none the drawback of your quirk. It would be hypocritical of me to reprimand you for it. You've worked hard to overcome that obstacle, but in a real battle there are too many variables. Let's see if your training is enough for a fight."_

The teacher's attention was taken by a feed of the fifth floor where Iida was hesitating to make the next move. The collapsed stairs weren't the only roadblock Midoriya and Uraraka planned for the hero team.

"Wow! Midoriya just scored!" Someone exclaimed. Young Kaminari, he believed. All Might curiously looked back at the screen.

* * *

Caught in a web of shadows. That was a succinct way to describe Katsuki Bakugo's predicament.

Damn it!

While Deku kept him distracted with frontal half-assed attacks, his damned shadows snuck up on him from behind. Once he tried to dodge another tendril, these black strings grabbed him all over and pinned him against a wall. Wrists were tightly bound and palms facing upwards.

Fucking damn it!

Now the damned nerd approached him, with that insufferable look of his. Looking at him as if he needed his pity or help.

"Damn you, Deku!"

The green-haired shadow puppeteer sighed. He glanced at his watch.

**Time using the quirk: 16 minutes**

**Powerful Counter: 11 minutes left**

"_This was too close for comfort. Kacchan was too ferocious; he never allowed me a second to allow Shadow-bender to reset_." He pushed that dilemma to ponder over later and looked back to his foe, who glared death and daggers at him. Whereas before such a glare, Izuku's eyes would show fear, now there was steel. "I'm sorry, Kacchan. But I told you, I was going to be a hero. Even if beating you was necessary to make you understand…" a part of him wanted to argue that he wasn't the quirkless nobody his former friend thought of him but held his tongue. It seemed Kacchan had deluded himself he truly was quirkless, even though said quirk was right in front of his face. "I want you to know, I never stopped looking up to you. I always believed you were amazing and could become the number one."

Having said his piece, Izuku presented the capture tape to bind his pinned foe by the wrists.

Whilst the 'villain' was determined and felt a sense of self-realization, the 'hero' got angrier by the nanosecond.

No! Hell no! No damn way in hell was he going to lose to Deku of all people! Deku, the hero nerd who couldn't do anything right. Deku, the spineless shit who used to be rightfully afraid of him. Deku, the quirkless.

(A tiny part of his mind whispered that Deku wasn't so quirkless, but as always fell on deaf ears.)

As he attempted in vain to break free, something caught Katsuki's eye. Something that just appeared on a shadow tendril behind Deku. Something slit opened. It was white with red in the center.

A red eye.

The moment it made contact with Katsuki's eyes, the blonde's mind was assaulted by something long ignored. A memory that had been put in the backburner and never thought of again. Like something ugly in one's pristine wall they just didn't want to admit it existed. Until now. It happened so fast, Katsuki can't it even tell what it is about. All he sees are four things:

_The red eye glaring down at him._

_The smirk of triangular, shark-like teeth._

_A string of blood running down the fiendish mouth._

_A little shit Deku licking his lips with a sinister look no 5-year-old could pull off._

BOOM!

Everyone, from Izuku, to Iida and Ochaco in the top floor, to All Might and the students, to even Kacchan himself, were caught off guard when the soon-to-be captured 'hero' fired twin blasts from his upward palms blowing up pieces of the ceiling. On instinct, a shadowy abode covered them both, shielding them from the debris. By doing so, Izuku had loosened his hold on Kacchan, which the newly determined blond took advantage off.

An explosion at blank point. Izuku felt an instant moment of heat. The ground abandoned his feet and his body flew. He landed hardly with a spinning headache.

"DEKU! YOU WORTHLESS SHIT! YOU THINK YOU CAN BEAT ME WITH THAT FREAKISH QUIRK!"

Izuku urged himself to get up. The front of his suit was burned and…Wait a second! Did Kacchan just…

"You thought you had me beaten when we were kids?! Guess again! It's time for round goddamn 2!" the explosive blond punched his fists, heat igniting between them. His tone became strangely calmer. "I never forgot how smug you looked back then. I'll put you back into place, you good-for-nothing."

"_He actually acknowledged my quirk?_"

The green-haired surrounded himself with shadows, unaware of them now sporting red eyes all over. So Kacchan remembered things that _he_ didn't from that day. He recognized his quirk, yet still claimed he was nothing. Izuku felt his resolve to prove him wrong double, now coupled with something a bit bitter.

"Kacchan, I will prove you I'm better. Even if I have to break every bone in your body."

The fight continued. Bakugo's approach didn't change. Izuku, however, had tossed aside any ideas of trying to stick with the 'quick-bursts' tactic. His watch laid burnt on the floor. He was certain he was going over the 20-minute limit by now. He didn't care. All he cared was taking his former friend down.

**Time using the quirk: 20 minutes**

**Powerful Counter: 7 minutes left**

* * *

**I confess I RETCONNED a little detail: I may have said at some point that Bakugo had been traumatized and didn't remember the day Izuku's quirk reared its ugly head. Well, in actuality, he did remember, but had pushed it down for so long, it was practically forgotten. Bakugo had made himself believe that event never happened and that Izuku was quirkless. Now, Izuku is the one who doesn't remember. Next chapter will come out in less time than this one took. Because this little retconn was the roadblock I was trying to go around. In the end, I just decided, screw it and ran through it with a high-speed bulldozer.**

**Next chapter will be more from Kacchan's perspective. And since Izuku's shadows have opened it's eyes again, he now remembers vividly what happened. You'll get the flashback next time.**


	6. Black Memories PART II

**PLEASE TELL ME, I don't mean to sound selfish, but I was taken aback by the lack of review on the previous chapter. Until then, that was the longest one and with too much content, I understand it might bore some. But the thing is, reviews are really necessary for this story. I don't have a certain future for this and I could use as much input as possible on how Izuku in this world should evolve and what to make of his quirk. Please, give me suggestions, any suggestions. Thank you!**

**Cieszesi Niezmiernie – **Izuku is a little marked by the possibility of loosing control of his power. He doesn't remember what really happened when he was 5, only that he did something terrible that day. That he hurt someone. At the end of this chapter, he will remember, and it won't be pretty.

* * *

**With Iida**

When Tenya Iida learnt he was selected to a hero team in this exercise, he committed himself to his role. He did his best to stay in character, even going as far as to call Midoriya a "foul lowlife". And made a mental note to apologize profoundly, later. The only detrimental part was being teamed up with someone as uncouth and foulmouthed as Bakugo. If he was to be candid, the irritable blond was better suited to play the villain.

Midoriya had cleverly collapsed the only stairway, on both ends, to the 5th floor where the bomb was.

"_Clever but futile._" The speed quirk-user thought to himself. His classmate had severely underestimated him. Tenya had been training to be a Pro since he knew how to add and subtract numbers. With enough speed, he broke through the barricades like they were thin foil.

His feeling of success was short-lived. Upon reaching the 5th floor he immediately spotted other doorways blockaded in the same way.

"_I could easily break-in, one at the time. But all the noise would alert Uraraka and void any plan to sneak up on her._"

**Powerful Counter: 20 minutes left**

Very clever. Uraraka and Midoriya had made it so he could not get close to the bomb without alerting his approach. As swiftly and quiet as he could, he sped through the collapsed debris, finding empty rooms one after another. Through trial and error, he found the hiding place but was unceremoniously sent the other way by a barrage of wreckage.

"Comet Home Run!"

"So you were waiting for me, you despicable villain! And that's not even a home run!"

Uraraka made a face. She put herself between the wall of trash and the bomb, wielding a pillar like a baseball bat. There were debris all over the place, some floating and some on the ground.

* * *

Toshinori Yagi was a man who had seen much more than the average one. He had witnessed evil and the monsters who perpetrated it. Despite his grim experiences, the man who was also All Might maintained his smile, always. Toshinori Yagi could look desperate and grim, but All Might must smile to give people hope. That was why All Might kept his smile intact, right then and there. His students were watching and completely blissful of the potentially danger.

"_Young Midoriya didn't tell any of his classmates about the drawback of Shadowbender. I may not be Toshinori, right now, but I cannot betray his trust and reveal his secret_." The hero's obscured eyes travelled to another counter, apart from the Powerful Counter of the exercise. It was linked to Midoriya's watch which counted the time he used his shadows. Said watch had just been destroyed but before it did, it displayed the 20-minute mark had been reached. Meaning Shadowbender would start to affect Young Midoriya's mind.

**Time using the quirk: 20 minutes**

**Powerful Counter: 7 minutes left**

The issue was that, All Might didn't know how much it would affect him. He had only seen the boy briefly become more destructive in his training, once, against a pile of trash. He did let on he had done far worse when he was a little kid, but never divulged. From what All Might heard, young Bakugo may be related to that, in some way.

Right now, he was divided between interfering or not. Young Midoriya had shown great concern if his quirk ever got out of control, and while his attacks and words (which only he could hear in the observation room) had grown more aggressive, that didn't warrant calling off the test. Has a hero, perhaps he should stop it, but as a teacher, he should let his students build themselves and each other up.

He made up his mind and not to interfere. But should any reason for it arrive, he would.

"What's with Midoriya's shadows?"

"Are those eyes?"

"Freaky!"

Those comments grabbed the teacher's attention. He refocused on the screen and his smile fell a little. Young Midoriya's dark shadows now sported red eyes, all focused on Young Bakugo. That was new; the boy never told him, as Toshinori or All Might, about that feature. Did he keep it a secret out of shame? Or perhaps he didn't even know about it?

"_I guess, for now, this is a waiting game_."

* * *

**Bakugo's flashback**

_Whenever Deku tried to play the hero, it rattled Katsuki's cage. That nobody now thought he had a chance of being a hero. With that stupid shadowy quirk, he couldn't beat up villains. Hell, he didn't even like to fight at all. The stupid wierdo just liked helping others. That's no hero at all! A hero wins everything and never loses. That's what All Might is._

_So when the green nerd tried to stop Katsuki from putting some other stupid pebble in his place, he would have __none of it._

_"Kacchan, leave him alone, please!"_

_"Deku, you're still pretending to be a hero?" beside Katsuki were Akato, the wing-boy, and __Hasegawa, the stretchy-fingers._

_"If you don't stop bullying others...I'll fight you." Deku made a shadow behind him. It looked just as weak as him._

_"As if! Your stupid quirk is just as scared as you are." _

_Deku's shadows were the wierdest, but tough enough to take his explosions. Typical Deku only defended himself, never attacked. Then the stupid crybaby he was defending ran away. So Katsuki was gonna teach the nerd a lesson. He ordered the fat, winged-one to land on top of Deku distracting him. He took the chance to kick him down. The two flunkies followed suite. Deku was left wailing on the ground and Bakugo figured that ought to teach him._

"_See, Deku? Learn your place as my stepping stone." For emphasys, he put his foot on Izuku's head._

_After a few more comments of humiliation, Deku's shadows reappeared and the three were pushed back.__ Deku was back in the fight, only now he was actually fighting back._

_Bakugo smirked. "Maybe that nerd could put up a good fight."_

_He would soon find out the fight was too good._

* * *

Back in the present, Bakugo's was facing a similar predicament. Izuku's attacks just became more destructive. Whereas before the shadows were careful not to damage the surroundings, now they trashed the walls and floor mercilessly, just to get to him or to throw junk in his way.

Izuku destroyed the ceiling above Bakugo, making wreckage rain upon him. His quick reflexes saved him and by jumping backwards. The explosive teen clenched his teeth in frustration; like before, his constant attacks prevented Bakugo from getting close enough to blast him.

"So now you're giving it your all, you goddamn nerd?"

The shadow weaver shot him a smug smile. "What's wrong, Kacchan? I'm not even trying that hard. If you can't beat me, how can you call yourself a hero?"

His gloved palms sparked. "I'll put you in your place, Deku!"

The smugness drained from Izuku's face. A shadow lunged at Bakugo, shaped like a V with the blonde in the middle of it. The two sharp tendrils closed on each other like a scissors. He propelled himself backwards to avoid the deadly cut.

"_Damn it! If I jumped a moment later, he'd have cut me in half_."

Izuku's face was void of the arrogance and bits of malice it had before. Now it was a mask of quiet anger. "Don't call me 'Deku'."

"Up yours, Deku!"

The shadows grabbed him by the ankles and hoisted him in the air.

"Don't…"

He was slammed against a wall, harshly.

"…call me…"

Then against the ceiling with equal brutality.

"Deku!"

His back met the ground harshly, leaving him a bit sore. Every ounce of willpower wasn't enough to make him stand up. It was the suffocating darkness that held him on his feet and fixed his gaze on Izuku's scowling face.

"Kacchan, do you know what you have stolen from me? What you kept beating down over the years until it was repressed?" he paused. "My Pride. All the times you humiliated me, you were chipping away at my pride. Now I'm going to rip yours apart, little by little." His scowl morphed into a smirk. One that brought more bad memories, but Bakugo pushed them away.

"Funny. You called me quirkless when in reality, I was just unwilling to use my power. Look how the tables have turned! Guess, you're the quirkless now. Maybe I should start calling _you_ 'Deku'."

Bakugo almost choked on his own spit and growled. "SHUT UP, DEKU!"

Losing his smirk again, Izuku tightened the grip. "Don't ever call me that, again."

"Go to hell, Deku!"

Izuku clenched his teeth in anger and the shadows did the same with their grip on the hated enemy. "The time you get to talk down to me is longer overdue! You're the 'Deku' now! You're the quirkless, now!" the shadow weaver collected himself. A malicious thought occurred to him. "Or, more accurately, you're about to be. I just remembered now, you excrete nitroglycerine through the skin on your palms. That's the _only_ part of your body that can make explosions."

The shadow binding the blonde's arms withdrew a little so that his wrists were visible, but the grip did not decrease enough for Bakugo to free himself. Izuku continued monologuing, his vicious smirk making a slow return.

"So it stands to reason, if you lose your hands, you become for all intents and purposes, a _quirkless Deku_."

The darkness reshaped itself above Bakugo. His breath stopped when he saw the shadow scissors. And between its blades were his immobilized wrists.

"_He…he wouldn't…_" cold sweat ran down Bakugo's neck. His wide eyes stared into the black scissors dangerously close to render him handless.

Izuku licked his lips.

* * *

**Bakugo's flashback part 2**

_Bakugo and his followers were again fighting shadows. Except now they had big red eyes. And big mouths. And now they were forced on the defensive. The tentacles of shadows were strong and tough. Bakugo found himself tossed around more than once, but did not back down. One of his flunkies, the one with stretchy fingers, ran away crying. Stupid wuss!_

"_Deku!" he ran at him, only to be tossed against a tree. Again._

_He glared at the crybaby. Now he wasn't crying anymore. He had a crap-eating smirk all over his face. Bakugo was gonna wipe it out._

_But then, the flying fat one threw a rock that hit Deku square in the head.__ "Stop it, Deku…please."__ That got the nerd angry and, without looking, sent a wide-open mouthy shadow at him. The fatass wasn't quick enough to dodge. He narrowly avoid the shark-like teeth that more than grazed his left wing. All the fighting stopped after the flying one, Akato, fel on the ground crying out in pain and missing something. _

_Bakugo looked in utter shock at the red wing, oozing blood, entrapped on the smilling fangs of the darkness. He then turned to Deku, who looked like was in just as much shock. Without thinking, Bakugo ran at him and got a blast on Deku's chest that threw him into the ground and knocked him out._

_Akato's screaming lured the attention of some grown-ups and the rest was history._

* * *

Those memories passed by Bakugo's vision in a blur before his presente reality returned to him. That this time, these same shadows were about to cripple _him_.

"_Young Midoriya, your objective in this trial is to bind your opponent. If you cause him severe injury, deliberate or not, you will be disqualified_." All Might's voice resonated electronically. Izuku looked around and saw no megaphones of any sort. More likely they were hidden as were the cameras.

The greenette replied with civility. As much as he was enjoying his newly discovered viciousness, he still held a great respect for All Might. "I'm just playing the role, sir. If he can't beat me, he certainly won't stand a chance against real villains."

That statement made the blond snap. He took a gamble and was able to press his palm against one of the red eyes of the bladed shadows. That caught Izuku unguarded who stumbled back. Again, his shadows were impervious to damage, but the pain was channeled to his body, namely his left eye which he clutched.

Bakugo aimed a grenade-like gauntlet at him, fist closed though. He smirked maniacally. "You got that right, Deku. There's no way I'll let you beat me." He slowly pulled the pin on the grenade. "These things collect my sweat and the more I fight, the more they collect. Try and survive this, Deku!"

The scowl on Izuku's face gave away to shock. All Might's protests in the blonde's comm were deafened by the blast that ravaged the corridor. What saved him was how quickly he raised the Ultimate Shield.

The small earthquake that plagued the battle ground was easily felt through the entire building and less so in the observation room. Iida hysterically called out for Bakugo demanding to know what he had done. Uraraka, still able to keep Iida away, called for her partner to check on him. The students insisted for All Might to stop the fight.

Feeling victorious at last, Katsuki Bakugo told Iida off and strolled to the sight of the explosion. A portion of the fourth floor had been destroyed, making the infrastructure a bit unstable. Had they been in the ground floor, the whole structure would have been compromised.

"How did that feel, Deku. Not so smug now, uh?"

All Might's voice ringed in his ear. "_Young Bakugo, that move was exceedingly dangerous and foolish. You could have destroyed the entire building. Do it again, and you will be disqualified_."

Bakugo snarled. "Fine, not like he'll be fighting after…"

Something too fast to keep track of shot at him and sliced cleanly the side of his left gauntlet. Nitroglycerine-sweat spilled all over the ground. Bakugo was mostly unscathed but very angry. Through the dissipating smoke, he glimpsed Deku's frame. His enemy was standing, thought awkwardly. His whole body trembled slightly but seemed too rigid to move. The nerd's face was a mixture of pain and hate.

"That…hurt." He panted in a whisper. Then he screamed. "That hurt!"

Shadows crept from behind him, slowly. The burning pain his body was still coping with affected Izuku's focus.

Bakugo sneered. "You really thought you were pretty tough, back there. Now you know you've always been beneath me." He gave a quick look to his destroyed item. "I'm gonna beat you more, even if you destroy my other gauntlet."

"I aimed at your elbow." Izuku spat venomously. That did take _some_ wind out of Bakugo's sails.

"_Deku, are you alright?_"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

"_I'm sorry!_" the interlocutor flinched. Izuku realized it was Uraraka speaking though his comm. Were he a bit less aggravated, Izuku would have apologized.

"Uraraka, what is it?"

"_I felt that explosion. Are you okay?_"

"I'm fine. Deal with Iida. I'm taking Kacchan down." And promptly closed the link right as Kacchan flew at him. Izuku sharpened his shadows, wanting to impale the cretin right then and there and damn the consequences!

Said cretin changed course by firing a blast right before he reached the shadowy appendages. That catapulted him in an arc above Izuku and he fell behind the nerd's uncovered back, which he promptly fired at. The vicious youth didn't cut him a break; he ended with a right swing to Izuku's side. To finish, he grabbed Izuku by the arm and beat him to the ground.

"You only got lucky because I couldn't get near you. In up close fights, you're still useless."

Izuku was angry and pinned down. Desperately, he made a last gamble. "Making others feel lowly doesn't cover your own weakness. You're a joke of a hero."

"Bastard!" there was a sudden heat. Bakugo punched him relentlessly. Blinded, Izuku made an ultimate spear. He faintly heard Kacchan hissing. He could swear he felt something fluid oozing on his shadow spear before passing out.

* * *

Izuku blinked. The clear morning sunlight burnt his eyes. Wasn't he just now inside a closed, somewhat dark structure? How did he end up here?

He scanned his surroundings. A rich, well-lit main hall, decorated with tapestries, vases, a chandelier and many other objects that just screamed how rich the person owning them was.

"Hello?" he called out once, then a second time, louder. No response. His voice returned to him in an echo.

He tried to leave through what he thought to be the exit door, only to find it wouldn't budge. Though against damaging property, he attempted to summon his shadows. To his panic, nothing happened; his quirk wouldn't manifest. After a pair of minutes to calm himself down, Izuku risked going further into the place.

He came across rooms, all empty. This house – which he suspected to be more of a mansion, now – was impeccably clean. So it couldn't be abandoned. He hoped he could get out of here, before the owners found him. He was training to be a hero. Wouldn't do to be mistaken for a burglar.

Climbing a long flight of stairs, he found himself on a large living room, with expensive furniture. One wall was a full bookcase, making the place like a mini-library. The lost boy looked out through a window as tall as two men. The outside was a courtyard with a nicely tended garden. Yep, he was in a mansion, all right.

A sudden sound startled him, and he jumped into a fighting stance.

It was a little boy, about 5 years old, playing with a toy train. He looked at him with curious wide eyes. Izuku was sweating bullets and spoke as peacefully as possible.

"H-hi, don't be scared, please! I'm a bit lost. Could you please tell me where I am?" He silently prayed the kid wouldn't scream and panic, or else Izuku might just do the same. The child stared at him with big, curious eyes.

"You'd know a thing or two about being lost."

Izuku blinked. The boy then started hitting the toy train on the floor. Except it wasn't a train anymore, but an action figure. One modelled after Kacchan, in the black Junior High uniform. On the floor and suffering the wrath of the Kacchan doll was one resembling himself, also in the same uniform.

"It's funny isn't it?" the little boy spoke. His tone was one of thoughtful contemplation, not at all expected from a child. "You let yourself be bullied and belittled by everyone around you, because you're afraid of hurting them with your own power. Better let yourself be hurt instead of hurting people that don't even deserve any consideration. Like dear, _precious Kacchan_." He finished the last word with venom. Not a speech expected from such a small child.

"And why degrade yourself like that? Because of one little accident. One time where you showed that self-absorbed little speck how small he was." The toys changed again. Now they were versions of Izuku and Bakugo as little kids. Only this time, the Izuku figurine was hitting the Bakugo one.

"The accident…" Izuku whispered. The temperature in the room suffered a quick drop. "How do you know…Who are you?"

The strange child looked at him and hummed in contemplation. "Who am I? You could say I am a part of Izuku Midoriya that he suppressed and neglected since that fateful day that he calls 'the accident'. The part that _precious Kacchan_ helped keeping suppressed for years." He paused thoughtfully. "That being said, we did accuse the blond cretin of taking away our pride. I suppose that could be my name; Pride."

The environment darkened. The sunlight disappeared. The mansion became somber, dusty and abandoned. Shadows fell over them both.

Izuku's eyes were bulged. It sounded like a crazy theory… "Are you my quirk?"

The boy, Pride, got up and as he did so, his body grew. No longer a 5-year-old, he transformed into something closer to 11 or 12 years old.

"Do you remember now, my beloved human half?"

"Remember…" Izuku frowned. Then a sudden, intense headache hit him. His eyes played out images he never saw. Or had he…

Pride's face changed completely. His pupils became an inhuman red, his teeth triangular and sharp. His voice, still childish, sounded demonic.

"**Do you remember now, my beloved human half?**"

Izuku screamed as images penetrated his memory like drills into his skull. Memories of that fateful day almost ten years ago.

_The shadows surrounding him, obeying him._

_Red eyes and big shark-like teeth._

_The taste of someone's blood in his mouth._

_A wing? A red, reptilian wing in the demonic mouth and a fat boy writhing in pain._

_The satisfaction of making other suffers. The desire to make the vermin around him grovel in agony._

* * *

The quiet that ruled the infirmary ended when Izuku sat up with a scream. The first thing he felt after taking a breath to refill his lungs was a bony but firm hand on his chest and a concerned skeletal face.

"Calm down, Young Midoriya. Everything is alright." Toshinori Yagi was sat on chair besides the boy's bed. It took him a moment to become aware of his surroundings. Before he could say or think anything else, Recovery Girl, the Youthful Hero ordered the man to move aside and checked up thoroughly on her patient. Only after a few minutes of making sure he felt and was truly alright, did she allowed them to talk.

The man began by explaining how he ended up there. That Young Bakugo knocked him out with quite an explosion but Izuku came out relatively unscathed. Bakugo himself was injured in his flank but Recovery Girl fixed him up quickly. The hero team was victorious, thanks to Iida actions right in the nick of time, but Izuku hardly cared about it. He looked haunted.

"How are you feeling, my boy?"

Fists shaking and eyes clenched-shut, Izuku grimaced. Tears threatened to spill between his closed eyelids.

"I did it again." He whispered faintly, nearly sobbing.

He couldn't notice Yagi sending a meaningful look to the aging heroine that non-verbally asked for privacy. Her frown was reply enough that she wasn't happy to leave the patient alone, just yet. The skeleton of a man gave her a pleading look and she sighed tiredly. Before taking her leave, Recovery Girl pointed at her watched and showed five fingers – she was giving him five minutes and no more.

The hero-in-training sobbed and relayed what he learnt, what he remembered during his unconsciousness. Yagi remained silently seated as the disturbed young man confessed the 'accident' almost 10 years before in detail. How he used his quirk for too long and became vicious against Bakugo and his friends, resulting in a crippling injury to one of them.

When it was over, the boy was shedding tears and Yagi had no idea what to do. All Might raises people's spirits with a smile. But right now, he wasn't All Might. He was just Toshinori.

Tentatively, he placed a hand on the boy's shoulders. "Sometimes, we do things we regret deeply. Or don't take actions we wish we had." He paused like reviewing his own words. "What matters is that we learn from them. You may have lost control, again, but you didn't harm anyone. You could have gravely injured Young Bakugo during your battle but held yourself back. I admit, witnessing you losing control in such way was an ugly surprise. But whatever it did to your mind, it never pushed you to do anything evil. In my view, you controlled your power, not the other way around."

Izuku calmed down, if barely. After more silence and the sobs subsided, he posed a question. "How do you know what happened during the battle trial?"

Yagi stammered before replying All Might told him everything, driving the boy into a new storm of despair, horrified that the Number 1 Pro had watched his 'evil' quirk in action. The man quickly and frantically assured him All Might thought absolutely nothing ill of him and wished him a quick recovery.

When the Youthful Hero returned, she promptly shooed the man away. After a kiss to make his recovery instant, Izuku found himself healed but exhausted. The old Pro explained her kisses sped up the natural healing process of the patient's body, at the cost of his stamina. He was alarmed to learn if she tried to heal injuries to severe, his stamina would drain, and he'd die. That served as a wake-up call to try and avoid such in the future.

None of that was at the top of Izuku's list of concerns, though.

* * *

**DELETED SCENE:**

**A weak pride**

"I never truly understood why you chose to pick on me, until now. Everyone else just ignored or laughed when I expressed my goal." He thought bitterly at the countless times people gave him treatment when they thought he was quirkless. "Yet, I never gave up. Still you had to try and bring me down at every opportunity. I think I figured out why you did that.

"You despise the fact that, despite my 'quirklessness', I still clang on to my dream. You seem to have this constant need to remind me, and everyone else, that you're aiming for the top. But are you reminding them or yourself?"

"I hit the jackpot, didn't I? That's the true, Kacchan. You're so afraid of not being strong enough to reach the top, it's best to keep everyone else down and beneath you. So you can climb to the top of a mountain of beaten people." He scoffed irritated, like someone who just noticed a particularly annoying fly. "Your pride couldn't be any weaker."

* * *

**In the past, Izuku's shadows got their eyes and mouths after the 20-minute mark when the negative effects started. Nowadays, since his quirk was suppressed for so many years, he only has the eyes. For now.**

**The results of the Battle Trial and the drama aftermath will have to wait for next chapter. This one was filled more than enough as it is. No prizes guessing who the 'boy' in Izuku's dream looks like.**


	7. Poll is closed NO SPOILERS

**Hello, my readers!**

**Just to say the poll is closed but no results will be displayed...oh, come on. You didn't expect me to advertise how the story will go on and ruin the surprise. Though, to be honest, it's doesn't feel like it'll be much of a surprise. Anyways, I said too much.**

**And lastly, would you all be so kind to DELETE THE REVIEWS to the poll faux chapter, to clear out space and you can criticize and comment when the next one comes out. And DON'T REVIEW this one, either, please.**

**A bit of a SPOILER, half of next chapter will be a made up class and not following canon.**


	8. Realizations in black

**I am PISSED. Like, really pissed. On 4****th**** November was suppose to start a short course on fluid mechanics and hydraulics which I was planning to attend to. The day before that, I get a call that there aren't enough students to start the damn thing. They said they could have enough of them on 19****th****, but again, was disappointed. So please, try not to be too judgmental on this chapter. It doesn't follow canon, mostly. Many wanted to compare Dark Shadow to Shadowbender/Pride, so this is my way to speed that up instead of making you wait for the Sports Festival.**

**ChunkyFunkyMunky -** this won't be anything like Fumikaje and Dark Shadow.

**BlackFalx -** I have plans for FMA characters to show up in minor roles, but as a part of the MHA world. This isn't a crossover, per se. In fact, one said characters will appear in this one.

**StayDetermined704 **– The boy in Izuku's dream is Selim Bradley and works like the avatar of Pride. And for Izuku's new powers, just wait.

**Grimzar** – AH! AH! AH! AH!

**Sb2282490 **– 2) It was close, but since this is my first MHA I didn't want to stray from cannon too much. So a 2-year-old Izuku didn't end up in court because it was labelled as an isolated incident. It's officially registered that Izuku's quirk makes him more violent. His classmates don't have access to those records, but teachers do. Its expected as a teenager he may have a better control over it. As for your other questions, I won't spoil them, but I've covered most of those angles.

**Death Hippo** – Wait and see! AH! AH! AH! AH!

**Challenge: I have a prize for the first who spots a reference of my favorite sci-fi series of the 90s.**

* * *

**The next morning**

Izuku was grateful for choosing to go to UA early, today. It saved him from getting harassed by the small army of reporters that flocked at the gates. News of All Might coming to Musutafu to take a position as teacher at the prestigious UA had shaken up the nation. It was all over the news and the media couldn't get enough of it. Nobody bothered to forcefully interview him when surely many more students would arrive later.

The day before had been the catastrophic battle trial class under his idol. Today, Aizawa would give everyone his evaluation based on his observations of the footage of said battles. Izuku was not looking forward to that.

After reprimanding Bakugo for acting like a child, the disheveled man turned his black eyes to Izuku.

"Midoriya, you showed some progress in using your quirk more versatilely." The teacher didn't blink while looking the student in the eye. "But just a little. You still have a very long way to go. And that starts with actually taming your quirk."

That last part put him more on edge than anything else. "_Tame my quirk? Does he know?"_

Aizawa proceeded with the evaluation of the rest of the class, leaving Izuku to his grim musings. "_He purposefully made his critic very vague so that I took the hint. He must know what shadowbender does to my mind."_

After he was let out of Recovery Girl's care, many in the class praised him for his usage of shadowbender and perfect impersonating of a villain. Izuku thought, or at least hoped, they meant it as a compliment, but still it wasn't an easy pill to swallow. He had to keep reminding himself of what Mr. Yagi said; nobody got hurt. He held himself back, despite going berserk.

Evaluation concluded, the teacher announced. "If you wish to review the footage of your fights, that's available on the school's database. You can access through any computer on campus. Naturally, you're forbidden from copying or representing any of it outside of school grounds. Take this privilege to study your flaws, because tomorrow you'll need that insight, immensely."

His eyes briefly brightened, putting the majority of the class on edge. That looming threat promised hell to any who slacked off. Everyone relaxed after learning their next activity would be choosing a class president. One by one, students clamored for the position. Iida stopped the chaos by proposing a democratic vote for the position of president and vice. Izuku had no desire for the position so he voted for whom he thought best: Iida.

To say the results were very spread out was an understatement. About half of the class voted for themselves, leaving many tied with just a single vote. Uraraka wasn't among them, for some reason. To Izuku's surprise, Iida only had one vote.

It was to his dreadful shock he had gotten the most votes, along with Momo Yaoyorozu. Both tied with two votes. Iida, looking downtrodden, proposed a second voting with Momo and Izuku as the running candidates. But Izuku hastily and flustered got ahead of him, declaring he gladly would give away the position to Momo.

Once class was dismissed, Izuku felt something hitting him hard in the back of the head. It had been Kacchan, while swinging his bag. He didn't even look at Izuku, who deflated.

_After the battle trial, I caught up with Kacchan before he left the school grounds. Turned out, before passing out, I inflicted a nasty wound on his flank. My first instinct was to tell him I was sorry for that, but held my tongue. I knew how wrongly he would take that. And he said:_

"_You think you are so great, Deku? Guess what, I've beaten you! I was always above you." He had that nasty smirk I recognized so well. It wasn't the animalistic, determined look he had during the battle. It was the cruel, superior look he wore during middle school._

_I realized right then, Kacchan saw this whole incident as a victory for him over me. In his eyes, he had proven to the world he was the best._

* * *

At lunch, Uraraka offered Izuku a bowl filled with rice. "You should try it, Midoriya. It's really good."

Izuku kindly accepted it, though something made him pause. "You called me by my last name?"

Her tainted cheeks became a tad pinker. "Well, during the battle trial, you told me not to call you 'Deku', so I figured you didn't like it."

Izuku winced. While he was going through the side-effects of his quirk, he yelled at his teammate not to call him 'Deku'. Even then, he felt bad for shouting at his friend, but that guilt went unheard compared to the screaming desire to beat Kacchan to a bloody pulp.

He replied rather embarrassed. "Uh, No, it's alright. You can call me whatever. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was…caught up in the heat of battle."

"That is another flaw you should strive to correct, Midoriya. From what everyone says, you performed the role of a villain quite well, if perhaps a bit too brutal. Though, to be fair, Bakugo was even more so."

"Uh, Izuku? Mind if I call you that?" Uraraka asked a bit timidly and he nodded in the same fashion. "Why did you give away the chance to become class representative?"

The answer came after a bit of stammering. "I-I'm not good a leading people. I didn't even vote for myself. I voted for Iida." He ended up blurting out.

Iida was caught off guard that his glasses almost fell off. After readjusting them, the taller boy replied in a humble tone.

"Thank you for your confidence, Midoriya. To be honest, this might sound presumptuous of me, but I wanted to vote for myself. I do believe I can be a good leader."

"Sounds like you want to be a leader." Uraraka opined after swallowing a generous portion of rice.

Iida confessed it was his dream to lead other heroes, to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, Tensei Iida, the Turbo Hero, Ingenium. To Izuku, Iida spoke both proud and humbly. Proud of having a role-model such as his older brother and humble for the same reason. To be so close to the person one looks up, Izuku wished he could be that lucky.

A hovering automaton, designed in the likeness of a flying saucer, approached them. It was a model used to transmit messages throughout campus between the staff or from the staff to the students. It transmitted a 3D hologram of the Number 1 Pro-hero:

"_I AM HERE…as a hologram! My dear students, I'm afraid for today's class, I'll be an hour late. Take that time to improve your skillset in any way you can, you zygotes! PLUS ULTRA!"_

"_Again with the 'zygotes'_?" Izuku recalled All Might starting the battle trial class with that same nickname for the class.

Iida promptly got up from the chair and enthusiastically announced his desire to do as their teacher said and encouraged Uraraka and Izuku to do the same. It was Uraraka's proposition that made Izuku loose his appetite:

"Why don't we view the footage of our battle trial, like Aizawa-sensei said?"

The bespectacled boy readily agreed, much to Izuku's chagrin.

_I had no desire of seeing myself acting like a sadistic maniac on a video. Bad enough that I could remember the accident and the battle trial in its entirety. Remembering the moments when I experienced the negative effects of Shadowbender was sickening, but strange. Although the memories are mine, looking back it doesn't feel like it was I. It feels like I was somebody else…_

_Whatever the case, I understood I couldn't hide from what I had done. So I joined my friends to watch the footage and hoped they wouldn't notice my brutality too much._

_Before we left, there was an intruder alert that turned out to be false. The cafeteria was in a panic, but Iida diligently calmed the crowd. Days later we'd learn the alarm wasn't that false._

* * *

**Library of UA**

UA had computer rooms for the students to do any research they required, provided they were for school purposes, exclusively. The footage of Class 1-A's performance on the battle trial class could only be viewed by said students, All Might and their homeroom teacher.

Since the trio were all watching the same battle, Iida insisted they all occupied the same computer with the argument they should 'strive to vacate as much of the equipment as possible for other students to use'. Fortunately, the plenty of unoccupied computers and Uraraka's insistence won the motion for each to use a different one.

Izuku winced as he saw himself tearing the ceiling above Kacchan. Had he been in complete control, he'd have kept structural damage to a minimum. That was the main reason why he wasn't selected as MVP. Brutality aside, what concerned him was how easily he performed complex moves such as the 'scissors'. He'd bet if he tried to do the same right now, it would be slower and sloppier. But in the battle trial, he used it effortlessly and at a stressful time.

"_So when Shadowbender's alters my behavior, it also becomes easier to use. That could be it."_ Izuku stopped his train of thought to try and recollect the emotions he felt in that moment. "_I remember feeling determined and angry at the time. But I know I didn't think of making that move in the heat of the moment; it feels like it was second nature. As if I had been doing it for years."_

Again came that foreboding feeling he was somebody else during that battle.

Then came the part when he attempted to cut off Kacchan's hands. That sent an actual chill up his spine. Izuku didn't dare to think back to that scene; he refused to believe in any way, he would have done such gruesome thing. It had been the rage of the moment talking.

Instantly he fasted-forward until Kacchan made that huge explosion that destroyed part of the building. Izuku felt a wave of phantom pain. Most of his injuries came from that blast. He remembered feeling a lot of pain and a fair share of anger and desire to make Kacchan feel that pain. Those feelings were not quite new; through the years growing, when Kacchan was more brutal than usual, Izuku felt a dark wish of inflicting the same pain the blonde did on him.

It was acceptable, if not quite right, for Izuku's next move being meant to hurt Kacchan. What wasn't acceptable was Izuku's intention with it. The slicing shadow that emerged from the dust was intended to slice off Kacchan's arm, not destroy his gauntlet as it had been the result. It was undeniable that permanently crippling his opponent was been his goal.

_It is said when people are angry, they take off their restraints and show their true nature. I knew my anger on that moment was genuine. So was my desire to see Kacchan hurting and bleeding._

Not for the first time, he felt sick to his stomach. Without excusing himself, Izuku logged out and left. He didn't even bid farewell to his friends.

* * *

**Basic Hero Training class**

Izuku barely spoke as he joined his male classmates in the changing room of another gymnasium on campus. The realization that he intended to bring harm to another person was disconcerting to say the least. Sickening, to say most. It was a small miracle that the prospect of a lesson under the number one Pro did lift his mood, if only a little.

"A gladiator tournament!" that's what the majority of Class 1-A exclaimed in unison when All Might explained summarily what their lesson of the day would be.

All Might, now in his current pro-hero outfit, waved a hand. "Well, maybe that's not a good comparison. Each one of you will participate in two different battles one-on-one against a different opponent. Keep in mind this isn't a tournament. The matches and opponents have all been decided based on thorough analysis of your performances in the battle trial. You will all be facing someone whom will be able to exploit your weaknesses. That is the point of this lesson and why we're here, on Battle Gymnasium Sigma 957."

They were in a quite spacious empty gymnasium where the Pro-hero's booming voice echoed easily. At the center was painted a red-lined square with seven meters side. The Number 1 pointed powerfully. "That square will be your ring. Each battle will be 5 minutes long. You win a match by making your opponent give up or pushing them out of bounds. If neither happens before time runs out, the match will be a draw. Keep in mind, in the end you'll all receive an evaluation based on your adaptability. Because, not only will you be pit against someone who may force you to adapt and improvise, but within these grounds…so will the battlefield.

"You see, Gymnasium Sigma 957 is equipped with state-of-the-art technology that changes the scenery and its conditions in an instant. Simply put, the scenario may work with or against you, from one moment to the next. That will also teach you how well you react to change."

All Might asked for questions and Iida immediately raised his hand. Iida was someone very analytical and straightforward. That reminded Izuku of something he had been pondering for a while. He hesitantly lifted his hand and when his idol pointed at him, he took a breath:

"I think Iida should take my position as vice-president." There he said it, now everyone was staring. He gulped. "Iida handled the panic in a cafeteria well, while I couldn't think of what to do. He'd be a much better vice-president."

Murmurs of agreement circled all around the class. Some even saddled Iida with the nickname 'Emergency Exit'. The boy in question was moved to tears. He marched up to Izuku and grabbed his arm in a comradery manner.

"Midoriya, my friend, I thank you for your vote of confidence and I swear to you, I'll prove it's not misplaced."

"Uh…okay." Izuku was a little uncomfortable at such friendly intensity.

So it was settled, Tenya Iida was the new vice-president of Class 1-A, second to Yaoyorozu Momo who retained her position as president.

All Might congratulated Izuku on his gesture. "You have shown great wisdom, Young Midoriya. It takes that and strength of character to admit one can't do everything."

"Everything?" a snide voice remarked. It was Kacchan, displaying that trademark sneer of his. "More like, he can't do anything."

It was middle school all over again, his former friend belittled him while he endured it. Except now, nobody else was supporting or following his example. Another exception was, a very short-lived, momentaneous, foreign desire to **sink his teeth into that pretentious bastard's flesh!**

All Might's loud voice cut through everything else, stopping Izuku's dark thoughts before he even realized them. "Alright, you zygotes! Get ready to rumble." The pro-hero spoke in an American accent.

"I'll be doing the rumbling, Small Might." The whole class turned to see a newcomer that seemingly showed up out of nowhere. It was a boy of short stature, around the same age as the students. He was clearly not Japanese, appearing more of European origin. His eyes were big and golden, as was his ponytailed hair. Like the class, he wore a UA gym uniform.

"Ah, long time no see." All Might's smile wavered just a bit. He sounded almost… nervous? "Class, this is Edward Elric. Today, he will be your teacher alongside me."

Uh, what? The class was collectively dumbfounded, even its more collected members couldn't help but stare. A boy, no older than them, was going to be their teacher?!

"All Might-sensei, I mean no disrespect, but how can someone so young be qualified to be a teacher?" Iida posed the question they all wanted answered. But rather than All Might, it was the Edward boy who replied.

"You know, Glasses, it's rude to talk about someone when they're right in front of you. If you want to know about me, just ask me, instead." In spite of that, Edward didn't seem offended, if the mischievous smirk on his face was anything to go by. Iida apologized to him, all the same.

"This guy must have a pretty strong quirk, if he can be a teacher." Kaminari commented in a whisper, which, somehow, Edward picked up.

"Actually, I don't have a quirk. But I'm still more qualified than this rookie." He jerked a thumb to the muscle mountain of a pro-hero.

"What the hell?!" someone among the class (guess who) growled. "You can't be serious that some quirkless good-for-nothing can teach us shit!"

Edward smirk widened. "I guess nobody in the class remembered to feed the mascot, this morning."

Bakugo stepped forward, palms sparking. "What did you call me, you worthless midget!?"

That insult did get a reaction out of Edward. His smirk became more tense and his brow creased. He was also containing anger, now. "Why don't you come at me, dog boy? Or are you scared?"

"You're DEAD!" Bakugo launched himself at the ponytailed boy. The class cried out for him to stop or for All Might to stop him. The Pro-hero didn't move a muscle, his smile never left.

Bakugo was about to make contact and blast Edward to bits. But contact never happened, for the explosive youth phased right through him. Confused and aggravated, Bakugo went for another attack. Which also never connected, as he phased through Edward again. The end result; golden boy was laughinglike there was no tomorrow.

"What the hell?! You do have a quirk, bastard!"

Edward ceased his laughing. "Wrong, Dirt-for-Brains. I really don't have a quirk; I'm not even human."

Uh, what?

Without warning, Edward's form fizzled and disappeared. Only for him to reappear in the middle of shocked class.

"He's got a warping quirk!"

"No," that was Yaoyorozu, eyeing the 'boy' attentively. "It's a hologram!"

"Bingo!" Edward clapped his hands. A chime-like sound echoed.

"Everyone calm down. Allow me to explain." All Might restored some order. "Edward Elric is an AI program that controls the functions of this gym and every other automated facility on campus."

That reveal had the opposite effect All Might wished for. Questions and expressions of shock erupted from the class. Iida inquired how could such a human-like AI exist. Momo commented she read an article that a project, led by former UA Support Class student Alphonse Elric, had created and donated a super intelligent AI to their old school. Izuku, unexpectedly, began spouting a whole inquiry.

Overwhelmed, Edward clapped his hands and the ground beneath their feet shook and changed form. The matter moved from a few spots and concentrated on other. Small, blocky towers made of the very floor grew in between the youngsters. The surprise was enough to shut them up.

"Alright, maggots! Listen up!" he spoke with authority and perhaps a little bit of sass. "You're not here to ask about how awesome I am. You're here to be heroes. And on this gym, the only way to do that is to survive whatever hell I put you through.

"This moron" he pointed at All Might. "already explained to you. Just know I'm the 'state of the art technology' that will control the battlefield. That" he indicated the changed ground. "is just a taste of what I can do."

All Might looked honestly impressed how the AI managed to quiet down the rowdy class with such ease. None of this came in his 'Teaching for Dummies' book.

"Now let's start." With that, the holographic projection of the golden boy disappeared. The first match was declared to be between Bakugo and Kirishima.

To Izuku, who had been bed ridden for most of the battle trial, it was an opportunity he couldn't waste. He only wished he had his notebook to register. But alas, he would have to trust his memory to write down everything later.

Eijiro Kirishima had the ultimate defense and it showed as he could take one of Bakugo's medium explosions at point blank. Kirishima kept mostly on the defensive until there was a break in Bakugo's unrelenting attacks. Said break was a distraction brought by Edward, whom instantly crafted a statue out of the ground that completely distracted him: a statue of Edward doing the 'stop-hitting-yourself' on a Bakugo. Despite winning, that distraction almost cost Bakugo the match. When questioned by All Might about the morality of such method, the AI responded that the student shouldn't let a petty distraction get on his nerves so easily. It was plain to see Edward took great pleasure in tormenting Katsuki Bakugo in any way he could think of.

More matches followed. Uraraka was pit against Asui Tsuyu, the frog girl, and tragically lost. Asuy was quite fast and easily avoided anything thrown at her. Iida won his first match, against a martial artist boy with the tail, Ojiro. Sadly he lost against the boy with the bird head, Fumikaje Tokoyami. Izuku hadn't seem much of him in action and never interacted with. He did hear the stoic boy had a quirk that manipulated a shadow. Wasn't that a coincidence?

From what he had gathered, Tokoyami produced a 3D shadow construct from his body in an avian shape and commanded it to fight from a distance. Basically that was the same strategy Izuku employed…

"Next match: Midoriya VS Yaoyorozu."

Izuku was startled to be called out. He eyed his opponent hesitantly who smiled respectfully at him. Oh well, maybe it wasn't going to be so bad.

"Begin!"

Previous battles began with a bang right after All Might gave the signal. This one did not. Izuku called forth the darkness of his shadow to surround himself but made no motion to attack. Yaoyorozu didn't even prepare a possible defense or offense. She merely adopted a stance and looked Izuku over from a distance. He understood her strategy; she was analyzing him thoroughly before making a move.

He had heard from Iida that Yaoyorozu was an excellent strategist and quite proficient at close-range armed combat, the bane of Izuku's existence.

She made her move, skating towards him – when had she made those skaters? – while creating a bo staff. Shadows with a dozen red eyes lunged at her. She was quite maneuverable in those skaters, so Izuku went for her weapon. It was doubtful she would be willing to just discard it. As he understood, her creation quirk used body lipids for fuel.

The shadow tendrils grasped her weapon, cutting short her attack. Yaoyorozu made just tiniest smile and pressed a button. A burning sting spread from the staff, through the shadows and into Izuku.

"_A taser incorporated in the staff. And she made rubber gloves to insulate herself._" He deduced, letting go of the weapon to avoid more shocking. "_She's quick with her quirk and thinks long-term_."

The tall girl continued her advance, while Izuku tried to cut her off. He could manipulate his shadows relatively fast, but she was faster and swiftly dodged his tendrils.

"_But so can I_." he allowed her to get closer and suddenly, the shadows between them shaped into a half-pipe forming a narrow curve to the limit of the battlefield. Caught unprepared, Yaoyorozu almost skated out of bounds. She narrowly saved herself from that by using her staff as a brake, stabbing it in the ground. But couldn't stop herself from rolling gracelessly.

Izuku went on the offensive, sending shadow tendrils one after the other. Her movements were now more uncoordinated. She looked stressed and her lack of action instead of reaction was showing it. He felt a tad bad for putting her through that.

"Sorry about this, Yaoyorozu." He faked an attempt to strike at her legs, but that was just a feint. His target was actually her weapon which he cut in two with a miniature version of the scissor move he used against Kacchan in the battle trial. It was easier to make it smaller.

Despair washed over the girls' face. Izuku felt no pleasure in being the instiller of such. He moved for an attack to push her out. Running on instinct, she crafted something small from her arm and tossed it at the in-coming darkness.

"_Is that a Russian stacking doll?_"

Everything became white. Izuku cried out and shielded his eyes from the intense light, on a reflex. He heard the surprised expressions from his classmates. Another thing was the tingling all over the darkness that functioned like an extension of his limbs. Said extensions felt like they were falling asleep.

The lights died out and Izuku hoped the after-effects of the flash bomb were affecting his vision. Sadly, it was not so.

"Wow! Look at Midoriya's shadows."

"…I think Yaoyorozu just hit a jackpot."

Holes. The darkness around him was lacered with holes. Like a fire that burns scattered spots on a large sheet of paper.

"_How did she do it?! Light makes my shadows stronger. How…that doll must have had a flash bomb inside! Its light was so intense it must have obfuscated any trace of shadow._" Given that so far virtually nothing had been able to damage his extensions of shadows, Izuku was understandably stupefied. And judging by the look on Yaoyorozu's face, she was just as shocked by the discovery.

Then she smiled.

"Not good." Izuku cringed but was quick to react. He went for an all-out attack with all the darkness he could muster at the moment to try and push her off. A crippling weakness of his – which not even he knew about – had just been brought to light and his opponent had the means to easily exploit it. Another flash bomb detonated, and his attack was disintegrated halfway. As the second light slowly faded, Izuku felt a hard blow to the face and fell on his back. Yaoyorozu stood towering above him with a new staff and protective shades.

"_She used the light to camouflage her approach_."

"Sorry, Midoriya. But I win."

Without warning, the ground started shacking.

"Earthquake!" came from the audience.

"Forgot about me?" Edward's voice echoed all around.

All Might declared. "Often, pros must act not just following a natural disaster, but also while it's happening. It's difficult to keep your bearings with a panic all around you."

"Hey, looks like Midoriya got the upper hand again."

Being the only of the two standing, Yaoyorozu was easily pushed and Izuku got up. He hastily summoned more shadows to keep her away. The ground continued shacking and it was hurting his performance. The shadows fizzled but didn't lose their substance. But Yaoyorozu was having more trouble keeping her balance. He launched the darkness…

"Time's up!" All Might's boom caused all activity to stop. "Now, as usual I'm going to assign a MVP. And that…" he suddenly pointed at Izuku who recoiled. "is you, Young Midoriya. Who can tell me why?"

It wasn't Yaoyorozu who answered but the quiet boy with white and red hair. His name was Todoroki, Izuku believed. "Midoriya adapted to changing situations better and faster than Yaoyorozu did."

"Indeed, that would be the main reason why." All Might nodded.

Awkwardly, the pony-tailed girl made a comment. "I'd would like to add that I only learnt of Midoriya's weakness by accident. The first flash bomb was a desperate move. I couldn't think of any way to gain the upper hand."

All Might lifted her spirits by saying she had much room to grow and knowing her limits was the first step. Likewise he said the same to Izuku. Thinking of improvements, he approached his classmate.

"Excuse me, Yaoyorozu. How did you learn to use a staff for combat?"

"I had mentors while growing up. I know how to spar in hand-to-hand, with a sword or spear. But to be frank, I prefer a staff." Noticing his thoughtful mood, she inquired. "Why do you ask?"

"This fight made me realize I'm not good fighting at close-quarters. I should learn to use a weapon, just in case."

She paused. "Well, if you'd like, I could teach you the basics. Maybe help you figure out what kind of weapon would suite you best."

He heartily thanked her for the offer and accepted it. "I had something in mind, before All Might called the duel off. I was going to try to make a weapon out of shadows."

"That's a rather interesting approach. With your quirk, you can fabricate any kind of weapon. To be fair, I was planning to make an Arrimax to illuminate the whole gym, but it would need to be potent enough as the flash bomb and that would take too long." They exchanged a bit more of tactics and agreed to meet later for Yaoyorozu to give him a few pointers.

Finally it was time for his second duel, this time against the quiet classmate Tokoyami, the boy with a bird head.

"Begin!"

"Come, Dark Shadow." The avian construct of darkness emerged, tethered to its human host. It lunged at Izuku but hit a dark wall. The impact was loud and vibrated through the shield of darkness. Izuku's legs almost gave in. Tokoyami's quirk was very strong!

The dark bird roared, grew a little and came about for another strike. This time, Izuku counter attacked. Shadow spears flew up against the dark purplish bird striking and immobilizing it by its hands and neck. Dark shadow was strong, but so was Shadowbender. But unlike Tokoyami's, Izuku's darkness was more versatile, able to expand and change shape. With Dark Shadow immobilized, Izuku hoped his could use more shadows to push Tokoyami out of bounds. Unfortunately, keeping Dark Shadow still was demanding all of his focus.

The two darknesses were locked, trying to push and overpower each other, measuring their strength.

"Man, it's a reverse tug of war!" Sero whistled from the sidelines.

"Looks like Tokoyami is winning." Sato commented.

Indeed, Dark Shadow was overcoming Shadowbender. Curiously, as the bird of swirling dark purple grew larger, the darkness of a hundred red eyes grew smaller.

"_This again?_" there was another pang of sudden weakness. This time, it lingered on Izuku's whole body. Similarly, Shadowbender became smaller and weaker, many of its eyes closing. As if his quirk was falling asleep…

On Tokoyami's part, he had his own puzzled thoughts. "_This is going too easy_." He had heard Midoriya was inexperienced with his shadowy quirk, though he had proven to be inventive and aggressive when needed to be. The apprehension test and battle trial were proof of that. When Tokoyami learnt one of his classmates had the ability to control the dark, he was a tad intrigued to test his own skills against him. The apparent outcome of this battle was disappointing, to say the least. Yet, something was…

"_**More!**__"_

"Be silent." He hissed quietly.

"_**Want more!**__"_

Dark Shadow was a living quirk, a part of Tokoyami who never completely obeyed him. A being that thrived on darkness, Dark Shadow was easy to keep on a leash during the day. Yet, at the time, hours before the sun set, it was resisting Tokoyami's will. Just like it did in the few, unfortunate times he summoned it at night.

"Stand down." He ordered more vocally.

"_**More!**__"_

Dark Shadow expanded explosively and took on a spikier, more menacing frame. On the opposite side of the spectrum, shadowbender decreased much more. The dark bird began to use its new massive size to stomp on the diminished shadow.

Under the crushing weight, Izuku turned his gaze to the spectators. It was difficult to see, though. All Might looked worried, or maybe disappointed. And Kacchan…Kacchan was sneering as always. Upon a time, such looks from him were a routine he endured silently.

Now, it filled him with wrath. Memories of his fresh defeat at the hands of Kacchan surfaced. Izuku Midoriya will be damned if he was going to be humiliated again in front of his idol andthose** worthless scum of classmates of his!**

"Ultimate Spear!" he took the risk of thinning his defenses but Izuku was able to accurately aim a sharp tendril at the demonic bird's eye. Dark Shadow backed off, screeching an unhuman scream while clutching its eye. Breaking contact with Izuku's shadows, the bird decreased in size. Tokoyami was momentarily disoriented and Izuku took advantage to send another tendril to push him out of bounds. Dark Shadow was quick enough to block the strike.

"_He's got good reflexes in controlling his quirk. Yet he still looks a bit disoriented_." He observed that the bird-headed boy seemed a little surprised by something. "_Maybe his quirk can act without him commanding it, to an extent. Or he must have trained it to do just that_."

Suddenly, the lights increased somewhat. Izuku felt his quirk rejuvenating while Dark Shadow decreased some more. He went for an all-out attack.

"_Even if Shadowbender makes Dark Shadow stronger, there's a delay before that happens. Tokoyami's quirk becomes incapacitated, if only for a fraction of a second. If I strike it with enough force to knock Tokoyami out of the battlefield, before the bird gets its power boost from my shadows…_"

The darkness of a thousand eyes impaled shadow bird on multiple places, including the eyes. It screamed in such agony that it made Izuku cringe. But he didn't stop; already the bird was growing bigger, once more. The greenette urged more shadows to hit the bird, to try and push it out of bounds before it overpowered him.

Tokoyami seemed to realize what Izuku planned, and he commanded his darkness to resist. Already Dark Shadow was growing back. Izuku clenched his teeth and channeled all his might to push over the giant bird.

Then something strange happened. Something so fast, so instant that only the two darkness manipulators noticed. Izuku's pure darkness began to flow all over Dark Shadow's form, like vines growing out of control over a rock until it was completely covered…

FLASH! A flash of light burst at the center of the battle, annihilating all the dark. Izuku fell on his knees, suddenly panting and taken over by a storm of exhaustion. With difficulty, he lifted his head to see his opponent in the same state.

"Young Tokoyami! Young Midoriya! Are you two alright?" All Might spoke as boisterously as ever, though his smile had fallen a little.

"I'm sorry, All Might-sensei, but I think I'm unable to continue." Tokoyami sighed.

"Same here." Izuku said between pants.

The match was declared a draw. Tokoyami walked up to Izuku and gave him a look over.

"You fought well." He extended a hand that Izuku shook after a moment. "And you quirk is a curious one."

The green-haired blinked. "Uh, thanks. But I think yours is far more. It's like it had a mind of its own. Is it an autonomous quirk?"

"More than that." Tokoyami seemed to ponder for a moment. Seemed to, his bird-like features were a little hard to read. Or maybe he was just too calm and collected to give any expression away.

Then the same bird of darkness emerged from the taller boy's chest, now much smaller and docile. It eyed Izuku as if it were a curious cat. "Dark Shadow is a sentient quirk. He has a mind of his own. He does as I command, during the day. But in the darkness, he thrives so much so that I can barely control him."

Izuku gasped. "In the dark? That must be why he grew so large when my shadows touched him. Shadows are darkness."

Tokoyami nodded. "I thought the same. When the lights increased, Dark Shadow regressed somewhat. Though yours didn't seem to."

Izuku nodded, speaking more comfortably, now. In spite of the distant demeanor, Tokoyami appeared to be a rather interesting conversationalist. "My quirk allows me to control shadows. The more intense the light, the stronger the shadows and the easier it is to control them."

The bird-boy hummed. "A rather interesting twist. My quirk diminishes in the light while yours grows."

"To a degree." Izuku corrected. He rubbed his hair. "My fight with Yaoyorozu showed too much light is not so good for me."

Tokoyami closed his eyes. "For myself, too much darkness isn't a good thing, either."

At that vague explanation, Izuku realized something awful. "But if your quirk is sentient…oh, no! I'm sorry, I didn't know! I hurt it with my spears."

Tokoyami raised a placating hand. "Don't concern yourself. Dark Shadow can recover almost instantly. Also, to be frank, he was pushing his luck. Whatever pain you caused him was a fitting punishment."

Izuku blinked, surprised at such callousness. Before him was someone who controlled a shadows, like himself. A one in a million person; someone with a living quirk. Yet he treated it with apparent suspicion and spite. He thought of asking how it felt to have a quirk with a mind of its own, but stopped himself before he might make offense. Still…

"_A sentient quirk? I wonder how that must feel like_."

* * *

**So, summary of the chapter: Bakugo claims his superiority due to his 'victory' on the battle trial. Izuku feels awful for how violent he became during the ordeal, but is too busy to stew too much over that. We meet an AI program modelled after a teenage midget. Iida is made vice president of the class. Izuku learns too much light can negate his quirk and what the effects are when he fights against a certain other darkness-user quirk. **

**Now a detailed explanation: Dark Shadow is a being of darkness that thrives in the dark. Shadowbender controls shadows, which are darkness and are ironically powered by light. When the two come into contact, Dark Shadows feeds off the shadows and increases. Since he's darkness incarnated, him growing diminishes the light, which gradually weakens Shadowbender. But there's another side effect that was experienced only briefly before the battle ended. That's to be exposed later.**


	9. A Black Revelation

**Tom2011:** Things will deviate further from canon from this chapter onwards. Just wait.

**ChunkyFunkyMunky**: Well, that is your call. I'm sorry to see you go.

**RiIl**: Remember this is all fiction. I'm following fiction logic, so pretty much anything can be explained. Dark Shadow is a being made of shadow like we are made of proteins. Shadowbender controls shadows and is also a shadow. So, Shadowbender can control Dark Shadow, in theory. More or less. The downside is that, Dark Shadow becomes stronger when in contact with darkness. Whereas Shadowbender becomes weaker. When they connect, Dark Shadow falls under control, but eventually becomes so strong tat breaks out of it. Izuku is aware of most of this.

**StayDetermined704**: Only Ed is an AI. As for the other homunculi, I have plans, but that will depend on another poll at the end of season 1.

**TheStoryWever:** He hasn't noticed because something inside of him is blocking out so memories that Izuku would need in order to connect the dots…Shoot, I said too much! As for Pride's assimilating abilities, just wait until the Stain Arc…Shoot, again, too much!

* * *

Today was the day. Class 1-A was going for their first lesson off-campus. That morning, Aizawa-sensei revealed they would be taking a bus to the so-called USJ compound. The class had donned their hero costumes, save for Izuku's who's still needed repairs.

Iida, having been nominated vice president of the class, insisted to his immediate superior, Yaoyorozu Momo, that they boarded the bus in a pre-selected order. She insisted that wasn't necessary and asked everyone to simply enter orderly in a straight line.

Before they departed, a human-shaped light manifested itself inside the bus. It took the form of a familiar 'teenager' of long, golden hair.

"It's Edward!" said Mina, having taken a liking to the AI-program that commanded some of the training infrastructure of UA. Whereas the bulk of the class was pleasantly surprised, the teacher was not. Aizawa fulminated the holographic avatar of the AI with a red-eye glare.

"What are you doing here? You're not supposed to leave the Battle Gyms."

Edward reciprocated with a dirty look. "Except when I'm told to make a thorough system check on off-campus facilities. Like the USJ. Which I've just finished giving a look after the boss rodent told me to, a hour ago. Everything checks out, by the way."

Aizawa's glare didn't falter. "Then you have no business here."

"In a moment, Dry-Eye. Just wanted to check out the class first." The program turned to the class, exposing a wide grin. "Hope you enjoy your hands-on class. Everyone excited? Safety belts on?" his grin morphed into a smirk. "Plenty of test subjects for my dome of torture?"

An awkward silence with a full class of wide-eyed stares ensued.

Aizawa groaned. "He was given a humor setting to make him sound more human. Speaking of which, how high is it?"

"At 100%."

"Make that 0%. Now get lost."

Edward snarled. "I hope you get your face pounded into the ground!" His holographic form disappeared.

The bus ride was filled with a conversation between the bulk of the class about what quirks were best suited for heroics. Izuku didn't partake in the conversation, though he listened attentively.

The classmate on his left, the girl with frog features, Asui, turned to him. "Midoriya-chan, you don't really like your quirk, do you?"

"Uh?" Izuku was surprised.

"I've noticed you often glance at your shadow warily. Especially before activating it."

Izuku shrugged, embarrassed. "It's just…I don't think it's really cut out to be a pro's."

"You got that right, Deku." Bakugo sneered from his seat. Izuku was assaulted by the same recent and sudden **desire to rip that bastard to pieces!**

(Then, like all the other times, that desire vanished from his mind and memory, leaving only a blank spot.)

"Don't say nonsense like that, bro." that was Kirishima, grinning encouragingly. "You kicked butt with your shadows. Villains will be running scared from you. On the other hand, mine doesn't look like much." He hardened his own arm with a disappointed face.

Izuku was puzzled how could the red head think that wasn't awesome. "But you've got such strong defense."

"Yeah, it's pretty sturdy. But it doesn't look like much." He shrugged it off.

"A pro-hero must have a quirk as flashy as it is strong. Like my laser." Aoyama butted in.

"For as long as it doesn't give you stomachache." Ashido opined deliberately to the blonde's chagrin.

"If you want flash and power, Todoroki and Bakugo are at the top." Kaminari commented.

"Except Bakugo has the attitude more like a villain's than a hero's." that was Asui, again. Immediately, Bakugo stood up, ready to pounce.

"What did you say, frog-face?!"

"That just proves my point." Asui ignored him completely, making Izuku widen his eyes in astonishment. Someone who had just met Bakugo, wasn't intimidated by him in the least. He felt strong admiration for the frog girl and an appreciation for the classmates that believe in him.

* * *

The USJ - Unforeseen Simulation Joint- comprised of an enormous domed structure. It had enough room inside for several spacious training zones. Each modelled with a landscape of a different disaster. Izuku glanced quickly around, taking in as much details as possible. The zones, spread out from the center occupied by a plaza with a fountain, included: mountain, shipwreck, landslide, fire storm and windstorm.

To greet them was Thirteen, the Space Pro-Hero. She was an average sized figure, judging by the size of the space suite that was her costume. An experienced specialist in rescue operations from natural disasters. The teacher introduced herself (rather needlessly) and briefly divulged how their practical class would go.

Izuku absorbed everything the teacher said, eagerly. Ochaco seemed almost mesmerized with the newly introduced teacher. He wondered awkwardly if he acted that embarrassing when meeting a new pro.

The Space Hero changed the subject to something that caught Izuku's heed.

"Before we begin, let me say something you may need to hear. For those who don't know, my quirk—Black Hole – can absorb anything and disintegrate instantly. Though I made it handy to rescue civilians, it can easily kill someone if misused. I'm sure some of you possess or have seen quirks like that."

She paused for effect. "In a superhuman society, quirks with a significant potential to cause damage for the user or others have been certified and closely regulated, so such quirks are often looked as relatively harmless by the general public. However, please do not forget that there are many Quirks that can easily kill with the wrong move."

The greenette felt a lump on his stomach. Foggy memories came back to haunt him. The aftermath of the incident in kindergarten. A stone-faced man in a business suite and icy voice coming to their house and speaking unsympathetically to his mom. Her proclaiming feebly that he was just a child. Mom forced to sign responsibility orders that put her as the one who'd face the music if her underage son ever snapped again. It was a secret to the rest of the class that Shadowbender was one of such regulated quirks.

He cleared those thoughts as Thirteen was not finished. "In Eraserhead's fitness tests, you've learnt to innovate with your abilities. Under All Might, you experienced using your powers on others. In this class, you will learn to use your powers to save others. I hope you take the following lesson to heart."

The teacher bowed her head as much as her helmet allowed her and received a round of applause from the class. When she asked for questions, Izuku's hand was the first to raise.

"Teacher, what if a Pro-heroes' quirk is…naturally dangerous to other people?"

The space themed hero responded. "That would depend on the circumstance, Midoriya."

"I mean, if their quirk has a drawback that can make him a danger to others." He divulged, trying not to be too specific.

"That is what you will learn in this class. To simulate the usage of your quirks on the field without putting anyone in peril. If you wish a more concrete answer, though, in a real situation, said hero should at least advise his fellows of the potential dangers of their quirk."

Perhaps Izuku was being paranoid, but it sounded like Thirteen pronounced that final phrase a bit slower than the rest. And her helmet seemed to lean forward just a little. Like she knew of his issue; and she probably did! As his homeroom teacher, Aizawa-sensei had access to his documentation and likely he informed Thirteen-sensei.

He lowered his head, accepting her answer and hoped the subject was dropped.

Aizawa called the class. "Now then, we'll get started on…"

Lights went out. The doorways were locked. A black, purplish mist manifested at the center of the plaza. One by one, strange people, mostly mutant-types walked out. A small army had just invaded the USJ.

"Thirteen, take the students!" the class, at first confused by the sudden appearance, was then shocked to see their passionless sounding teacher speak so urgently. "Those are real villains."

The students stiffened. To most, the air became abnormally chilly and surreal. Without warning or hesitation, the homeroom teacher leaped down the stairs to face the invaders.

"Everyone, with me!" Thirteen commanded with unwavering diligence. As with Eraserhead, there was no hesitation in her action or words.

The class was hastily guided towards the exit, despite the protests of some, Bakugo chief among them. The dark purple fog erupted before them, cutting off their escape. The mist adopted a tall, somewhat anthropomorphic figure, with two slit yellow glowing eyes. Its voice was a deep, male, but polite and rich one.

"Greetings. We are the League of Villains. Please, pardon us for inviting ourselves into the grounds of the prestigious UA. We are here to ensure All Might, the Symbol of Peace and Justice, takes his last breath." There wasn't a trace of jesting or mockery in his words. It almost sounded like a genuine apology. "Based on our intel, All Might should be here. Has there been a change in schedule?"

He paused, politely awaiting an answer that never came. "Well, I suppose that is neither here nor there. Regardless, I have my own part to play..."

Before he could reveal what said part was, Kirishima and Bakugo lunged at him, the former slicing his hardened arm like a blade and the latter delivering an explosion at blank range. The fog disperse in a blast. But the illusion of victory was short-lived.

"Oh, my…that was quite dangerous. Even though you are still children, it's apparent you show great promise for heroism." The mist man was unharmed. His fog, or perhaps _himself_, enlarged and encompassed the class and Thirteen. "My part is to scatter you all and have my associates torture you to death. My apologies."

Izuku couldn't see a thing. He vaguely heard recognizable sounds like cries and grunts from his classmates or the sound of Iida's engines. In despair, he called for his shadows when he felt an invisible force pulling him away. Surrounded by so little light, his shadows felt thin and weak, but were able to latch onto something. That something however was pulled alongside him.

The ground beneath his feet disappeared and he fell through the air. Another voice cried out in alarm along his own and finally realized what he had carelessly grabbed: Ochaco Uraraka. Together they fell on the water of the Shipwreck Zone. The unfortunate pair would have been chopped down by a villain with a shark-like mutant-type quirk, if it wasn't for the timeline arrival of Tsui Asui.

* * *

The villains assigned to the shipwreck zone were all fit for the water. While they were not much of a team, they had made a consensus beforehand; observe the brats, figure out their quirks and then going for the kill.

When a dark…something with a bunch of red eyes penetrated the water, the startled villains dispersed. They moved away from the ship and stayed defensive. The darkness danced in the water, its many eyes peering in every direction. They gazed upon every villain for a moment and then retreated back to the surface.

The villains weren't the only ones playing the 'watch and wait' game.

* * *

"We're surrounded by nineteen villains in total. Unless some have a camouflage quirk. They were all fit for fighting in water." Izuku reported in, opening the eyes on his face. The sight he had from multiple angles shifted back to ordinary.

"That is a very useful ability, you have." Uraraka complimented. With cheeks tainted, he blabbered:

"T-thank you! I learnt to do it while I sleep. I mean, I noticed I could see things with my shadows when I closed my real eyes. It's a kind of disorienting at first and I'm still getting used to it. I think closing my eyes is not a requirement, but it helps to focus on…"

"Midoriya-chan, this is no time to divulge our powers, like that." Tsuiu Asui interrupted him with a stern tone, but with every bit tranquility she often spoke with.

Yet, the shadow manipulator burnt with embarrassment and apologized profoundly. Comically, the red eyes in the darkness also looked downcast, apologetic. After that short episode, he promptly dismissed Shadowbender and his watch – he had asked the Support Department to prioritize fixing and reinforcing the watch - started the countdown. The watch was the device Izuku requested to make sure he wouldn't overuse his quirk by neglecting the time.

Asui scanned the water and beyond. "This is troubling."

That was a short way to describe the situation. In a matter of minutes, their off-campus class had been hijacked. Villains somehow infiltrated the USJ with the goal of killing the Symbol of Peace and Justice. Even grimmer was the fact that they were aware of the schedule, as the mist warp villains expected All Might to be present and appeared to be savvy of the layout of the USJ beforehand.

It was mostly Izuku and Asui discussing information points until Uraraka interjected. "How could they know? I hear UA security is pretty tight. Even the media…" her eyes widened. "You don't think?"

Izuku nodded. "They must have set up the media invasion to get the information amidst the panic."

"Resuming, we are outnumbered and have a field disadvantage. Our only advantage is that the enemy is wary of what our quirks might be." Asui looked over the water. The villains had the ship surrounded but didn't dare to venture any further.

Izuku snapped his fingers in realization. "They must not know of our quirks. If they did, that mist villain would have sent you to the fire zone." He turned to the red dome, on the opposite side of the USJ.

Uraraka looked the other way, troubled but thoughtful.

Asui agreed with his hypothesis. "That is our only advantage in this fight."

"Tsu-chan," Uraraka used the endearing term much more freely than Izuku dared. "you're not saying you wants us to fight them, are you."

"Given our situation and that its unlikely help will arrive in time, it's our only course." The frog girl stated, ever calm.

The gravity girl waved her arms in alarm and argued. "But we're not even properly trained, yet. We don't stand a chance against real villains."

"Are you saying we should stay put and wait?" the frog turned to her, still stone-faced. She wasn't admonishing, or accusatory, at all.

"I'm saying we should stay defensive. When the school hear about this, All Might and the teachers will come."

Asui's gaze lingered on her. Either she was evaluating what Uraraka said, or the gravity manipulator herself. She put a finger to her lips and looked contemplative. "I still believe we must save ourselves, but I suppose stalling for now is a good strategy. It could buy us enough time to make a plan of escape."

Izuku had stood out of the argument. Fact was, he agreed with both of her points and couldn't decide which one to follow. But the frog girl's last comment drew a response out of him. "Asui…"

"Tsuiu." She corrected him.

"Right, Tsuiu. You almost sound like you don't trust All Might will come."

She croaked before replying. Her eyes narrowed just a little. She didn't eye him so profoundly, anymore. Her voice, so objective before, sounded tarnished by a pinch of doubt. "To be honest, Midoriya-chan, I think you two are too reliant on All Might. Many people are, in fact. Don't get me wrong, he is the greatest hero, but not even he can put out all the fires." She turned more thoughtful, then. "Plus, that villain said they're here to kill All Might. People this organized can't be stupid nor boastful. That means they must have a way to kill him."

His blood froze. Kill All Might? That was impossible! Every part of Izuku's mind said a man with a strength of a god and resolve of a mountain couldn't be destroyed. A man who revolutionized the nation by steadily decreasing crime rate since his debut. A man who created the current hero society, leading by example. A man who made the streets safe for his generation.

Such a symbol of peace couldn't be destroyed. Izuku didn't believe that, for one second.

"Asui, All Might can't be beaten." Izuku spoke low and polite, yet coldly assertive. Perhaps a bit too cold. The frog girl showed no offense by it.

The three settled on a compromise. To play defensive, stall for time, while thinking of a more active plan to save themselves. Since Shadowbender was the only long-range quirk and the villains were wary of it, it was agreed that Izuku would keep the villains at bay. Much to his secretive apprehension. His shadows sliced through the water with extreme ease. He made half-hearted attempts to strike at the villains. Half-hearted only to keep them away, with little aggression as to not push them into counterattacking. If a fight broke out while they were ill-prepared, it would be disastrous.

Asui gave a succinct list of her abilities, which Izuku paid special attention to. He made a mental note to write all of it down later, if they survived this. Were they not in such peril, Izuku would have asked a whole to inquire about such diverse quirk. Overall, she had the basic abilities frogs were known for. A long, extensible tongue, jumping very high and far, sticking to walls, a tongue that could extend up to 20 meters and secreting stinging mucus. He also divulged the list of abilities his quirk granted him. His shadows were impervious to all kinds of physical damage but not energy attacks, could take on any shape and had much more strength and speed than his human body.

A plan was slowly hatched, mostly between Izuku and Asui exploiting the advantages of their abilities.

Uraraka found some props within the ship, such as faux boxes of cargo and dummies meant for rescue training. That discovery added a much needed element to their plan of escape. The two girls promptly started dismantling the props whilst Izuku kept the villains at bay.

The frog girl descended to the lower deck to get some more objects to use for the plan, leaving Uraraka to finish taking apart the rest and Izuku keeping guard.

"_The villains are getting bolder_." The shadow manipulating sentinel thought apprehensively, sweat running down his forehead. Their attacks at his darkness were increasing in frequency. Some even partnered up.

He opened one eye to see Uraraka finishing disassembling the last mannequin, by taking off its head. He couldn't help but feel the irony; were this still a rescue class, they should be saving those 'people', not using them to save themselves.

Thinking back on the subject of rescue, he thought back on what Thirteen-sensei meant. Was she advising him to inform his classmates of the issue of shadowbender? He had a nasty feeling yes.

"Um, Uraraka. Are you alright?" she looked tense, now that she had nothing more to do until Tsuiu returned.

"I'm fine." Her answer was just a little too fast and her smile too forced. Izuku felt some relieve in knowing he wasn't the only one nervous. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat and inquired.

"Uraraka, can you keep a secret?"

"Oh. Uh, sure."

He took a preparative breath. "My quirk…makes me do things. When I use it for longer than fifteen minutes, I become a different person."

"Different?" she blinked.

Gulp. "I turn bad."

Without warning, the ship rocked violently and became tilted. Asui reappeared:

"They have broken through the hull. We're sinking."

Izuku gasped. "I-I'm sorry. I got distracted…"

"Midoriya-chan, we can't afford to waste time looking back." The level-headed girl spoke, cutting him off. "We have to make our move, now."

He looked at her and found himself reassured. They all nodded to each other. The plan had already been agreed on. Time to put it in action.

First off, Uraraka used her quirk to nullify the effects of gravity of the parts and Asui used her tongue to place most of them floating on a spot above the water, surrounding the ship. Which was where the villains were waiting. After the last piece was in place, Izuku commanded the darkness to surround and grasp Uraraka. He trembled, flustered, at the mere thought of handling a girl. Even her thumbs-up of encouragement didn't sooth his worries. He made certain sure to hold his friend by her knees, ribs and shoulders.

"_Okay, time for phase 1."_

Izuku roared at the top of his lungs. "DIE!" that and the shadows that erupted, larger than the ship, were enough to startle the villains.

"Release!" Uraraka brought her fingers tips together, cancelling out her quirk on the floating pieces above. All that junk raining on the villains further confused and surprised them. Not one of them realized what the kids were doing; and that was the plan.

"_Phase 2_." Uraraka touched herself with all five fingers and Izuku suddenly felt nothing weighting down his shadows. The majority of the darkness quickly plunged into the water in wide tendrils and rotated in the same direction as a turbine pulling up a large amount of water. And all the surprised, uncoordinated villains in it.

Moving quickly, the shadows took the weightless Uraraka to one target at the time. She travelled so fast that she was able to touch two villains while they were still in midair. The following four were held by the ankles upside down when she reached them, and nullified gravities hold on them.

"Upwards, Izuku!" she instructed, pointing to their next targets and the shadows took her up.

That was the basic plan. Capitalize on the villains' ignorance and simple coordination. They were surprised and slow to react and the few first were already floating upwards to the ceiling, neutralized as threats.

But it was a plan that counted too much on the spur of the moment and quick reaction. By the time seven villains were floating away, the rest were already reacting and squirming against the shadowy bonds. Izuku trembled, sweat ran down his forehead. It took great effort to keep so many targets in his grasp. While his shadows were night impervious to physical blows, a lamprey-like mutant type unleashed an electric charge that caused him to drop the villain.

He landed on deck of the ship and set its predatory eyes on Asui, jumping at her. She leaped out of the way and smacked him on his lamprey head with her tongue. The villain snarled animalistic and attacked her again. Izuku, now having less targets to hold on to, made a shadow barrier between the lamprey villain and his classmate. Asui reacted quickly and hurled his upwards with her tongue. Uraraka touched him and he was down for the count.

"Good work, Urara…" Izuku's optimism came to a sudden, horrifying end. In his distraction to shield Asui, one of the captive villains, the shark-headed one that tried to kill him upon warping her, released himself and made a descend upon Uraraka.

Time slowed down for Izuku's many eyes. The shark mouth wide open, filled with sharp, triangular teeth. Casting a penumbra upon a turning, unaware Uraraka.

SNAP!

A bit of blood stained her cheek as her head finished turning. The girl screamed in horror.

Facing her was a giant, shark-like mouth that belonged to a villain that got loose.

Said villain was immobilized again. This time in a bigger mouth with teeth the size of her face!

The mouth belonged to the red-eyed darkness. The shark-villain was trapped in its teeth which injured him in non-vital areas. Uraraka quickly tapped him on the head and the mouth released him. She looked down and saw Izuku with an expression of frightened astonishment, much like her own.

The whole episode scared the villains more so than it scared the children. So much so that most didn't struggle when Uraraka tapped them. She instructed one of the most submissive ones that they would float up to the ceiling. As long as they didn't do anything, they'd be safe. But if they broke it, nothing would stop them from floating into orbit.

The battle was over, and the students allowed themselves to breath in relief. The ship was still sinking, but they didn't care. A moment to relax was a must.

"Izuku, I didn't know your shadows also have a mouth." Uraraka commented, still being held by the darkness. If he let her go, she'd float away, too. And if she nullified her quirk, the villains would drop back down. Neither was an option.

"Nor did I." Izuku confessed, after a long sigh. He checked his watch. The whole exercise cost him in total eleven minutes.

The deck suddenly tilting served as a reminder that their ship was still sinking. Uraraka held on to Asui's back firmly and the frog girl's tongue wrapped around Izuku's waste. Due to the brunette's weightlessness, she didn't impair Asui's ability to jump from the ship and close to the margin of the lake.

"_Midoriya-chan, you are a special one."_

The trio arrived safely at the edge of the lake. Uraraka's boots were equipped with adherence patches like the suckers of an octopus, which allowed her to stay grounded. Fortunately, the water was shallow enough for them to stand.

"Aizawa-sensei is amazing!" the gravity girl was in awe at their teacher's skill. All alone, Eraserhead had dispatched almost the entire crowd of villains that invaded the plaza. Most laid tied up and/or out cold.

"But Eraserhead is not used to fight so many opponents at once." Izuku reluctantly admitted with grim undertone. "Normally, he would approach an enemy and erase their quirk just as he's about to make a surprise attack. And his quirk has a limit. All this fighting is draining him rapidly."

Looking at the fountain, he located the only two villains not engaged in a fight. One, a lanky young man covered in severed hands, watching silently. Likely the leader of this so-called League of Villains. The other was a behemoth of muscle of a mutant-type with an avian beak.

It was when Aizawa-sensei finished the last lower villain that one of them made a move faster than his eyes kept track of.

* * *

Eraserhead just dispatched the last thug when a shadow loomed over him. He turned to see the towering, hulking bird-faced villain.

"By the way, Eraserhead. I'm not the final boss." Uttered the apparent leader.

A giant fist came so fast that he couldn't react and stomped him into the ground. The armored vizor was tossed away. His blood smeared the floor. Another loud pound and the teacher felt some ribs cracking. More blood spilled. And a third hit, a pained wheeze. Pinning his victim on the ground, the bird monster grabbed the underground hero's right arm and snapped it like a twig. Aizawa couldn't swallow the scream of agony that propelled.

All while his students watched, petrified in dread.

All while Tomura Shigaraki watched in silent glee.

"You may erase any quirk you want, that's pretty neat. But against overwhelming power of Nomu, you might as well be quirkless."

Quirkless.

Once uttered, the word emptied Izuku of every emotion. He wasn't seeing the teacher he respected and slightly feared getting beaten to a bloodstained pulp by some monster. No. He saw a little Izuku being stomped on by a jeering Bakugo. The emotionally void boy was then refilled with a different sentiment. A hunger for **slicing up the two freaks while they drowned in their own blood**.

This time, the dark feeling didn't disappear immediately after being born. Shadows sprang into action.

"Izuku!"

"Ribbit?"

The purple hulk, Nomu, hissed in pain as his torso was ran through by spears of darkness in four places. Izuku smirked like a cat who got a canary in its clutches. But then, the monster ceased his pained hisses, like it just realized it had merely been stung. And it looked at Izuku with a blank, soulless, glare. Every soul present turned to the boy. The hands-themed villain glared behind his mask. Uraraka and Tsuiu like he had stepped on a landmine.

"Nomu, swat that spawn."

There was a purple blur lunging at him. Barely enough time to raise an ultimate shield. The fist collided with the sheet of darkness and sent him flying out of the water. Izuku Midoriya landed and rolled on the plaza, winded and dazed. He moved no more.

* * *

The sweet smell of tempered, hot rice assaulted his senses. His brain fired up a reboot and Izuku Midoriya woke up screaming for his life.

"Oh, you're up." Noted a soft voice that didn't sound the least bit surprised.

Izuku took consecutive deep breaths to still his heart. He checked his surroundings hastily. There was no monster, no villains, no classmates, no plaza. He realized he was sitting on a chair in a long, rectangular table. Sitting at the opposite end was a boy of big, black eyes and dark hair. He looked the same age as Izuku. And was enjoying a gorgeous meal.

The hero-in-training blinked several times. "Who are you? How did I get here?"

The strange boy sighed in irritation. "Are you really going through this again?"

"Again?"

The boy's dark eyes bore on him. "Go back and remember."

"Remember?"

"What happened after the battle trial and until you woke up in the infirmary." The anonymous boy clarified.

"During that time…I was unconscious. That's all there is. How can I remember anything that happened while I wasn't awake?"

The stranger got up from his seat. "Guess I'll have to use the magic word, then. Seeing as you're so desperate to hide the truth from yourself. Remember your…" he paused deliberately "…pride."

Something snapped in Izuku's brain. Like a spark that ignites a gunpowder barrel. He screamed, overwhelmed not by pain but by memories. During his comatose state in the aftermath of the battle trial, Izuku recollected the incident he was a part of when he was little. Yet he completely obliviated a much more recent memory; the hallucination he had while unconscious had been left completely forgotten. Now it returned to his memory in full.

_You could say I am a part of Izuku Midoriya that he suppressed and neglected since that fateful day that he calls 'the accident'._

_The part that precious Kacchan helped keeping suppressed for years._

The hero trainee staggered back. A trembling hand travelled to his head. "That dream…you were there. You were smaller…"

The boy, who had at the time looked younger and named himself 'Pride', bowed his head with a smile.

Izuku debated to himself in mutters. "But if that was a dream, does that mean I'm dreaming again? Am I lucid dreaming, now? If this is just another hallucination, then none of this is real. I have to wake up."

Pride's smile disappeared. The well-lit room darkened.

"So you assume just because it happened only in your head, it wasn't real? Just a hallucination brought upon by the stress and wretched Kacchan?" Pride sneered.

In that moment, Izuku's attention focused again on the 'boy'. Pride, who could only be a product of imagination. It had to be!

"_Are you my quirk?"_ that was the question left unanswered in the last dream.

Another thought came up. This time a memory he experienced while awaken; his battle with Tokoyami's quirk. A sentient power with a will that differed from its user.

"_A sentient quirk? I wonder how that must feel like_."

More bits of memories were recollected, the sudden and promptly forgotten desires to maim someone who wronged him ever since the Battle Trial.

Realization. His quirk, when overused made him feel like a completely different personality. A bloodlust that wasn't his own. That same dark sensation that he felt emanating from Pride.

"No way." Izuku's voice trembled. "Why?"

"Why?" Pride looked confused by the question.

"If this is real, if you are my quirk…why do you make me enjoy hurting others?"

Pride paused for a brief moment and then burst out laughing. He hugged himself and doubled over while Izuku watched perplexed. The personification of his quirk settled down. "Why? Oh, my pathetic human half. Because, why not?"

The darkness engulfed all the light in the room. Izuku felt extremely vulnerable. Pride, on the other hand, seemed to thrive in it. The blackness around them sprouted many red pupiled eyes. And mouths filled with sharp, triangular teeth.

The ground beneath Izuku suddenly became like quicksand and he began to sink in the shadow. He couldn't move. His arms felt really tired, all of the sudden. He looked desperate to Pride.

"Be at peace that I hold no grudge against you, Izuku. In spite of having locked me up in the deepest pit of your soul. Thanks to the last few months of training, you slowly woke me up. And now I feel stronger than ever!"

Izuku's cries were muffled as he was engulfed completely.

"You sleep now, my beloved, feeble, adorable, pathetic human half. I will take over now. No more hiding within your flesh. No more mercy. No more Izuku Midoriya. Now, there is only Pride."

* * *

**So, summary of the chapter: **

**They go to the USJ. Izuku is subtly advised to inform his friends of his quirk's drawback. Villains attack. Izuku gets sent to the shipwreck zone with Asui and Uraraka. (No worries about Mineta, he's with Todoroki.) Izuku tries to tell Uraraka about Shadowbender, but they're interrupted. They escape the shipwreck unconventionally. And turns out Izuku's shadows have sharp-fanged mouths. The trio runs into Aizawa being beaten bloody by Nomu. Izuku attacks it in a fit of anger, but to no avail. He's put unconscious and finally realizes the biggest secret of his quirk.**


	10. Black Rebirth

**SonicMax**: No, All Might's not gonna fight Izuku/Pride.

**Scarease**: No, you didn't offer me any Ocs. I think.

**Kisame Hoshigaki**: Just wait and read.

**Something I find a letdown is that in Fmab, Pride's mouths don't move as he speaks. Animation budget, obviously. But since writing is very, very cheap, in this story, the mouths of Izuku's shadows move when Pride talks. Just an FYI.**

**Is Izuku's quirk sentient? No…and yes.**

**Is Pride and Izuku one and the same entity? Yes…and no.**

**Now that I've answered those age-old questions, let's dive in.**

* * *

Uraraka and Asui were petrified in fear by the unmoving behemoth, Nomu, standing so close to them.

Just a moment before, Izuku Midoriya had attacked the purple monster on an impulse. The stabbing wounds he dealt had no effect to slow it down. Nomu proceeded to punch Izuku out of the water. Their friend landed on the plaza, unconscious.

All in the time frame of a second.

Red sparks manifested over the wounds which quickly regenerated. The creature was unscathed but remained still, towering above the girls.

A humanoid mist appeared beside Shigaraki.

"Kurogiri, did you kill Thirteen?"

Kurogiri hesitated. "She's out of commission, yes. But one of the students was able to evade my grasp. He escaped and is bound to warn the UA staff."

The lanky young man glared at the mist butler behind the shriveled hand mask. He began scratching his neck with increasing fury. His mutters came out in shaky hisses.

"Kurogiri, if you weren't a warp gate... I would reduce you to dust where you stand!" He suddenly stopped the frenzied scratching and spoke again in that dull, uninterested tone. "Oh well, I guess it's game over. Let's go home."

The deranged youth turned his gaze to the defeated underlings they brought. They could rot where they laid, for all he cared. Then he gazed down to the barely conscious, beaten Eraserhead lying at their feet. It would be so easy to kill him right now. Make a fine farewell note to UA. Finally, his eyes landed on the two hero wannabe girls, staring frozen before Nomu.

Shigaraki got a better idea. "But first, let's crush All Might and UA's spirit by leaving them a couple of corpses." his glare relayed to the girls they would be such corpses. "Nomu, crush their skulls into jelly."

Several actions took place in the following second. The Nomu complied with the order, extending both arms, massive hands opened, towards Uraraka and Asui. The former, in a panicked reaction, raised her hand to touch and nullify the bird villain's gravity. The latter selflessly sent her tongue to pull Uraraka out of harms' way. Eraserhead summoned all of his strength to stare at and erase the Nomu's quirk. Izuku began to stir awake. And the doors at the entrance of the USJ were blown off its hinges. The last event was the one that caused all other actions to halt.

"When I came across Young Iida, he relayed to me what was happening here. That my students were being attacked by villains looking for me. That my colleagues were being massacred." The man who could punch mountains and was known throughout the world to always be smiling was not smiling. His face was twisted in an angry grunt. "Knowing all that, makes my blood boil. It's hard to keep a smile on my face when I see such cowardice and cruelty from evil-doers. Now I say, have no fear, for I am here!" he ripped his tie and tossed the yellow jacket.

The next split second, the mountain of a man reappeared in the plaza, knocking down all the awed minor villains with hits too fast for the naked eye to see. He scooped up Eraserhead in his arms and, after a moment of mournful apology, All Might rushed like lightning to pull Uraraka and Asui away from the villain bosses.

In the process, Shigaraki's hand mask fell off and he crumbled like an infant whimpering for it back. Without his master's coherent command, the obedient Nomu was again a statue.

The girls didn't yet catch up that they had just been rescued when All Might ordered:

"Take Eraserhead out of here. Leave this to me. Hurry!"

Uraraka then remembered. "Wait, Izuku is…"

What she meant to say suddenly died on her lips. In a moment, they were staring at the still purple monster and the freaking out Shigaraki. Without warning, the former was taken away by something big and black with an unholy number of red eyes and mouths. All Might's scowl faltered somewhat, and the girls looked terrified as the villain that brutalized their homeroom teacher was hoisted high up in the air, his right arm in the mandibles of the darkness. The jaws pressed with all their force and…

SNAP!

...The Nomu's arm was severed and the creature hissed in pain as it fell back on the ground with a loud sound, producing a crater.

"Young Midoriya." the pro-hero whispered apprehensive when he saw, without much surprised, whom the shadows came from. The boy looked a little roughed up, but fine, a few meters away from them. Even at such distance, All Might could see a smile of self-satisfaction on the boy's face.

All Might turned to the girls. "Has young Midoriya used his quirk for more than 20 minutes?"

It was Asui who supplied. "No, sir. Maybe half of that."

To All Might surprise (and subconscious relieve) the purple enemy began to regenerate his arm. "He can regenerate?"

"Uh, yes. When Izuku attacked him before, he recovered from his wounds in an instant." said Uraraka, unknowingly making All Might relax a little.

"_So, Young Midoriya knew his enemy could heal himself. Still that attack was far too brutal. Yet, according to young Asui, it hasn't been 20 minutes._" filling those thoughts for later, he shouted to the greenette. "Young Midoriya, this isn't your battle! Stand back with your classmates!"

It was right then that Izuku Midoriya turned to him and All Might could glimpse something different in the boy's eyes. They weren't green, anymore.

Izuku paused, as if contemplating, then wordlessly obeyed and walked away. The girls left with their homeroom teacher. Good, now he could go all out.

As the girls gently carried Aizawa away, Uraraka couldn't help but notice Izuku was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

All Might threw punch after punch at Nomu, hitting the face and the stomach, but the beast wasn't even fazed.

"Punch all you want, hero. Nomu has shock absorption." That tidbit of information dropped by Shigaraki caught All Might off guard, who was almost trapped in a chokehold.

"I thought his quirk is regeneration!"

"I never said that was _all_ he had." The villain mocked. "Nomu was created to beat you at 100%!"

"_So punches don't work and no point in injuring him. Let's see if I can knock him out._" All Might grabbed Nomu from behind and makes a german supplex that shakes the ground. The shockwave lifted dust all around the plaza, blocking the view of the outcome. Tomura Shigaraki waited impatiently for it to settle, but then sensed something from behind. His spatial awareness saved him from being skewered by an Ultimate Spear with a mouth.

"What's this? You attack me while I'm distracted? Not very hero-like." The villain muttered in that dull tone again.

Behind the cloud of dust was a small, human silhouette of the plain-looking kid with green hair. He didn't approach but sent shadows in his stead.

"It was enjoyable slicing up your pet. Though it's a shame he can recover so easily. I wonder if you can regrow your body parts, too." The mouths of the shadows moved in synchrony with his lips. They all smirked malevolently. "Let's find out."

Tomura Shigaraki adopted a crouching stance. He didn't look scared, at all. That just wouldn't do to the shadow puppeteer. He wanted the villain scum to scream!

A swarm of Ultimate Spears sprang into attack. Shigaraki leaped out of harm's way. The shadows followed after him, but the villain proved quite evasive.

"_He's faster than he looks. No, he's actually anticipating my movements. Looks like this maggot got some skills._" The green-haired one scowled. Then smirked, eager to use his newly resuscitated attributes.

One of the spears heading for Shigaraki suddenly snapped open like a scissor and grew a fang-filled mouth. The villain bent his back backwards and avoided being bitten in half by the waist, but barely.

"You really tried to kill me, there. Definitely not heroic at all." He retorted in that dull tone. Then it became darker and furious. And there was the neck scratching again. "You are just the type of scum I hate the most! Heroes so self-righteous they justify violence is fair, as long it's for their so-called 'good causes'!"

The dust had cleared enough for Shigaraki to see the green brat's mug. And he was smiling. Worst of all it was an innocent looking smile, befitting a good little angel who could do no wrong. Shigaraki saw through it. The little shit was mocking him and didn't bother to hide it.

The dust had settled down, showing something that made the villain gleeful, again.

"This is a welcomed opportunity." Shigaraki looked to the other side. Izuku followed his gaze.

All Might was in the Nomu's grasp as the beast itself was immersed in a mist warp gate by the waist.

"I told you, Nomu was made to go toe-to-toe with you at 100%! Pinning you was his job…"

"Killing you, hero, is _mine_." Finished Kurogiri.

That was the endgame. Having Nomu pull All Might halfway into a warpgate and closing it, cleaving the Number One's body in two.

Suddenly, something dark rushed in. All Might felt the enemy's titanium grip completely loosen and leaped out of harm's way. Something purple rolled on the ground and stopped by the green-haired student's feet. The Number One gasped in horror when he saw it. Hero and villains stared in shock as Nomu's decapitated body collapsed and hero-in-training placed a foot on the severed head.

"Y-young Midoriya." All Might uttered in horror and disbelief. Granted, he had seen a few things just as gruesome in his years, but to see such an act come from a child…He finally gazed upon the boy's face fully. Either he was hallucinating due to injury, or he could swear the boy's eyes had become red.

"That was brutal." Asui said, her tone a bit more subdued than normal. Uraraka, on the other hand, had her hands shaking in silence, unable to comprehend what her eyes told her; that her sweet friend just brutally decapitated someone.

Unbeknownst to everyone, the person that wore Izuku Midoriya's face, right now, wasn't Izuku Midoriya.

* * *

The individual that wore the skin of a green-haired, freckled boy wasn't Izuku Midoriya. And yet, he was. But also, he wasn't. The entity was as much a part of Izuku Midoriya as a brain is a part of a person. As such, he was Izuku Midoriya. But if one asked him, he preferred another moniker – Pride.

* * *

Pride didn't spare a glance or thought to the head under his foot, nor the stunned All Might, nor the already regenerating Nomu. No, his attention was on Tomura Shigaraki. He showed off a smirk that said: '_yeah, I just spoiled your fun. What are you gonna do about it?_'

"You cheater!" the seething villain broke into a run towards the greenette. "I'll kill you!"

"Will you?" the boy/sentient quirk recalled his shadows to his vicinity. He wanted that hand cretin to get really up close when he skewered him. "Let's see if you can regrow body parts like your pet."

Ultimate Spears sprang from the ground when the villain had too much momentum to stop or dodge. Not that Shigaraki even tried, apparently. Pride smiled demonically, eager for his soon to be kill.

Then it all turned on its head.

A warp gate opened between his spears and Shigaraki in the blink of an eye. Pride's attack was instantly nulled by the complete darkness inside the gate. At the same time, he sensed a cold foreboding from behind. Another warpgate manifested with a crusty, pale hand about to grasp his nape.

On that split second, the predator realized he had become the prey. That wargate had served both as a shield for Shigaraki and a path for him to get close to Pride's unguarded back. So fast it happened, it didn't even occur to Pride he was about to die.

"Die!"

From the other side of the gate, Tomura was rammed into by one Katsuki Bakugo. As a result, his arm was pulled out of the portal and away from Pride. A thick stream of ice travelled through the ground and reached Kurogiri, encasing the left side of his body. Pride noticed the ice had come from that emotionless kid, Todoroki or whatever his name was.

"Midoriya, are you okay, man?" Pride didn't acknowledge Kirishima, right away. It just dawned on him he had been saved, by that damn Bakugo, no less! A nausea of disgust and sourness filled him. He ignored his classmate's concern with a scowl and reanalyzed the new status.

So All Might was safe and sound thanks to his intervention, although bleeding from the flank. Nomu just finished regenerating and stood still, awaiting orders. The bartender villain was half frozen and neutralized. Shigaraki had managed to disentangle himself from Bakugo but was surrounded from all sides by enemies.

"Looks like we're in a pinch." He scratched his neck a little more. "Nomu, rescue Kurogiri."

The purple behemoth became a blur too fast for the eye to follow, heading towards the ice boy and his captive. It was another scene when several things happened all at once and too quickly. The ensuing shockwave from the monsters' assault blew the three other students away. The Nomu would have crushed the bi-colored haired boy, yet, to their surprise, Todoroki was safe and sound besides them. Turned out, All Might pushed his student away from certain death and took the blow himself.

"Don't you know how to hold back?" The Number One panted. His wound exacerbated.

Shigaraki shrugged as the Nomu brought the warpgate-quirk user to him. "It was to save my comrade, after all. You could call it a necessary evil. Violence is frowned upon in general, but praised when used to save others, isn't that right, _Symbol of Peace_? In fact, that broccoli-looking twerp impaled Nomu in four places before knowing he could regenerate. Then he had no qualms cutting off his arm and then his head. Just look at him, he won't even try to deny it! He's proud of it! So before you berate me about restrain, teach some to your little puppets."

All Might spared a glance at Young Midoriya. The boy gave a scowl – it looked so out-of-place on his gentle face – and retorted to the villain.

"Look who's talking about condemning violence. You came here looking for an easy, one-sided slaughter. It's only fair I give you a taste of your own venom. And believe, I'll make sure you choke on it." He smirked sadistically saying that last sentence. That unsettled a little his classmates, even Bakugo, who gave a cautious sideways frown to the greenette. If All Might wasn't worried before, he was now. But nothing he could do about his student, for the time being.

"Boys, thank you for all your help, but you must retreat now."

Pride wasn't happy. "I'm not a liability like these three. If it weren't for me, you'd be dead."

Kirishima was a little offended, but let it slide. Bakugo snarled and turned fully to Pride, who ignored him. Todoroki didn't even blink, though.

Without looking at him, All Might replied. "And I thank you, Young Midoriya. Now stand back and watch a pro at work."

The hero and the Nomu rushed at each other and started the mother of all fist fights. The impact of multiple punches per second began to pick up a strong wind.

Pride couldn't believe the sheer strength he was witnessing. "_So much power! For real, this is a perfect day for a complete reawakening."_

"Are you deaf or just stupid? I said he had shock absorption." Shigaraki jeered loudly to be heard over the tempest.

"Absorption, not nullification." All Might retorted, never losing his smile.

Pride gasped, then smirked viciously. "That's his plan, after all!"

Sure enough, Nomu's body became saturated, receiving more impact faster than it could absorb. To wrap it up, a punch holding more than the pro's full maximum hurled the beast into the sky.

Pride's eyes were glued to the hole he made on the domed ceiling. Then turned back to the steaming mountain of a man with the power of a God.

Power. That's what All Might embodied. That was what meant to be at the top. Power is what makes a pro-hero.

For the first time today, Pride felt something other than bloodlust; a tiny spark of genuine admiration in someone else.

* * *

Took considerable effort for All Might to disguise his exhausted breath and put on a smile full of bravado.

"And that is how us Pro-heroes do." He proclaimed to both side of the audience. But in reality, his thoughts said something else. "_That took two hundred-something punches. Had I given my power to a successor, it would have taken more. And now, my time is nearly up_."

He eyed the two remaining villains and stood proudly. "Well, you came here to kill me. So come at me, if you dare." He was running a big bluff. If he could stall until the rest of the staff arrived…

"He cheated! He's not weakened at all!" Tomura Shigaraki started a panicked raving episode, his neck drawing some blood from all the scratching. It took his associate to calm him down and make him notice their enemy was truly worse for wear.

It looked like they were going to band together and come at him in a last-ditch effort, after all. All Might held himself intimidating. Maybe he could stop them with one more smash. It would drain away whatever seconds he had left…

The onslaught never came, for a sudden shadow attacked the plotting villains. They dodged the slicing darkness, but the hand-mask was knocked off Shigaraki's face. Whatever joint attack they had fell apart as Shigaraki dissolved into a panicking sobbing mess.

"Father?! Father! Where are you?!"

"Is this what you're looking for?" everyone turned to see a shadow with a big mouth, holding the appendage in its teeth. Shigaraki's eyes widened and he walked like a hypnotized zombie towards it, while mumbling about 'father'.

Pride smirked gleefully as he commanded the mouth to snap shut and severe the hand in half.

"FATHER!"

Pride made a disgusted face. "I wonder if your actual hands taste just as rotten. Because you look as decrepit as that corpse."

"YOU!" Shigaraki hissed and broke into a dash towards the greenette. All Might swiftly put himself in his way. Kurogiri attempted to stop his ward from charging recklessly.

Suddenly, the doors to the compound opened again. The rest of the staff had arrived with Iida!

The villains were forced to retreat. Shigaraki's red eyes looked from the Number One to the green-haired brat.

"Next time, I will kill you, Symbol of Peace! But you, green shit, I won't kill you. I won't be that merciful." And he disappeared into the portal.

"Neither will I." Pride whispered with every intention to make the crusty cretin scream in agony next time they met.

The ground beside him shifted and a wall of concrete formed between him and All Might. Pride turned around to see Cementoss had been the perpetrator. He looked between the teacher and the wall and shrugged it off.

The remaining villains were swiftly apprehended and taken into custody by the police. Class 1-A was brought out of the USJ. Pride paused when he stepped outside; it had been so long ago he felt the warmth of the sun.

"This really is a perfect day for a full reawakening." He sighed in satisfaction. Hopefully, in the next battle he could actually deal permanent, lethal damage.

* * *

**Say 'goodbye' to Izuku cinnamon-roll Midoriya. And say 'hello' to Pride!**

**Sorry if you expected more Pride action or a longer chapter, but our shadow puppeteer did have an impact. Much more remarkable than Izuku did in canon, imo.**

**Next chapter will be delivered soonish. It's an epilogue of season one, plus deleted scenes and a short commentary.**


	11. S1 Epilogue, Deleted scenes n'Commentary

**In the narration, there might be some confusion as to who is being referred to, Izuku or Pride, so…**

**Izuku=plain old cinnamon roll**

'**Izuku'=Pride**

**Why not just call the new Izuku by Pride, all the time? Because Pride is a part of Izuku, therefore, in a way they are the same person. Also, they are not. That will be explored further. For now, continue with the official fact that Pride is Izuku's quirk. Because he is that…and something more.**

**After this epilogue, I'm gonna give a long rest to 'Everything Black' and focus on 'Diamond Deku', bringing it up to speed until the end of season 1, too.**

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

Class 1-A was all accounted for and miraculously uninjured. Outside the USJ compound, 'Izuku' joined his classmates, but kept himself apart from anyone. Now that the battle ceased, it fully struck him his situation; he was free. Free from a sleeping existence in the depths of his container's mind. This body was his, now. His tool to experience the world…

"Izuku, are you okay?"

'Izuku' turned an annoyed glare to Uraraka, who recoiled without meaning to.

"I'm fine. Now leave me alone."

She flinched back, but didn't move. "I'm sorry. I was just worried about you. You were kind of violent in there."

He looked at her in annoyance and disdain. "I did what was necessary. Or would you rather have me stand there and let All Might get killed, like the rest of you did?"

This time she did step back, both hurt and apologetic, and left him. He looked around to the rest of the class. 'Izuku' sneered. Most of these worms remained by Thirteen's side rather than engage in battle. And they called themselves heroes? Did they expect their careers would be restricted to interviews, sponsorships and fame?

"Humans are just stupid." He whispered.

Uraraka had gone back to her friends, feeling more downtrodden than before. Then a thought struck her; were Izuku's eyes always red?

* * *

"You will require at least two days to recover your strength. Maybe then I will try to use my quirk and heal your arm." Recovery Girl sighed. The drawback of her quirk was that it used the patients' own energy to speed up the body's natural healing. Eraserhead had been pretty beaten up and would require a lot of rest before she dared use it to heal his arm. "That means, you will be bed ridden and not leave this infirmary until such time passes, do I make myself clear?"

There was a dark undertone in the old lady that promised a lot worse than his already acquired injuries if he didn't comply. And Shota Aizawa had worked enough years at UA to know better than to defy her.

She opened the door to allow a gurney to enter, moved by an automaton. To sour Aizawa's mood, it was that invincible idiot, All Might. Now back to his skeleton form, but conscious. And, Aizawa bet, in a talking mood. Joy.

"Rough day, hu?"

There it was. Recovery Girl moved about to do her things, leaving the two men alone with each other.

"I'm used to it." Aizawa let it slip. Great, now he was partaking in the small talk.

"Same here." All Might laughed tiredly. To the underground pro-hero's relief, he said no more for a while.

Silent passed by with both teachers staring at the ceiling, wrapped up in their own thoughts. Aizawa took the opportunity to rest, a luxury scarce in his life. Or would have, hadn't the blond man spoken again.

"What do you make of young Midoriya?"

Aizawa peeked from one eye, only half annoyed. "The problem child? He is hesitant to use his power. Has a good imagination on how to use it but is inefficient on execution. Plus, he's far too obsessed with mimicking certain bone-headed pros to be his own type of hero. Resuming, he has potential, but very little. He might go far if he shapes up."

All Might hesitated. "Today, he was quite violent against his enemies. At least, he become so when he first engaged Nomu."

"Then he had passed the fifteen-minute mark." Aizawa concluded.

"No, not according to young Asui."

Now Aizawa opened both eyes. As the homeroom teacher, he had access to his student's legal documentation concerning their quirks. He was well aware of Izuku Midoriya's incident when he was young and the negative effect of using his power for too long.

"Perhaps he used it for longer than she's aware of. How violent was he? Did he injure anyone?"

"Only the villains, but still. Even after learning Nomu could regenerate, he was too bloodthirsty. He cut off his arm and then his head. And from the look of his face, of his eyes…" All Might refrained from trembling. He had seen many types of villains in his years. A thankfully minority of them could succinctly be described as monsters; those who used their power to hurt other not for personal gain, or a grudge, but simply because they could. People who lived to spread suffering and delighted in causing it. His archnemesis was one of such. And the idea of a child, one of his students, the bright boy he met before UA being one of such fiends… that gave him chills. "I get the feeling he truly enjoyed it."

Aizawa frowned and turned back to the ceiling. "Nothing that can be done now. When we're back in classes, I'll be keeping my eye on him."

All Might exhaled and lifted his bandaged hand. That fight was almost impossible to win. He could feel his time limit had shortened yet again.

"_I guess it's really time to put down my cape. I need a successor and fast_."

* * *

"…_Yesterday, at the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, where Hero Course students were attacked by a gang of villains who call themselves 'The League of Villains'. Police officials revealed this group was plotting to have the Number One Pro-hero and new teacher at UA, All Might, killed. While most of the villains were apprehended, the ringleaders escaped. In spite of this unprecedented crime against UA High School, the administration assured that the Sports Festival will move on…"_

Tomura Shigaraki crushed the mouse into dust, but not before he pressed the button to pause. The news video was paused right when the footage was showing the 1-A class students. That was what prompted the childish villain.

That brat. That green-haired bastard!

Shigaraki grasped the spot on the screen where Izuku Midoriya's face was displayed and reduced it to dust. Damn it, the TV was annoying anyways! Kurogiri would get a new one, soon enough.

Funny thing was, Shigaraki used to destroy All Might merchandise to relieve anger. Now, it seemed doing that to the green-haired shit was much more relaxing.

* * *

'Izuku' looked out the window. The morning sunlight hadn't reached the apartment building Izuku Midoriya lived in, yet he could see the horizon changing to a lighter shade of blue.

Waking up was a strange new experience. In the first few moments, he didn't know who he was or what he was doing in this strange place. Then everything came back to him.

He wasn't Izuku Midoriya. And yet, he was Izuku Midoriya. He was his Pride.

Looking back at the bed, he grimaced with distaste. Curse the human body's biological need to sleep. The previous night, the same day that Class 1-A went through the USJ fiasco, the same day he seized control of this organic container, 'Izuku' had been hesitant to sleep. Fearing that spending hours immobile, unaware, unable to extend himself out of this body, that his human half would regain control. In precaution, he had spent hours before hand manipulating shadows, nonstop. Hopefully, that much use of his ability would keep him in control.

Thankfully, that was the case. Or perhaps, Izuku Midoriya was so soundly asleep, he would never wake up. Oh well.

"You stay in there, quiet and asleep, my human half. I will make us the hero you always hoped to be but never were strong enough to become." He whispered soothingly, putting a hand to his chest. Feeling for the first time said chest, he brought himself to the full-length mirror in the closet. According to his human half's memories, it was seldom used.

Only a handful of times had Pride been in control of this body. The first was the incident in kindergarten. There was a wide blank between then and in recent days when Izuku first unleashed him on the Battle Trial. Going back to it, he relished the beating he put on Bakugo and vowed to put him through worse next time they lock horns. Third was All Might's second class where he fought against that bird boy's quirk. That was somewhat interesting, he would admit.

Yet in none of those times had he been in control long enough to check out this body. Izuku was more robust, no doubt about that. Humans often say those with big muscles are strong, but that didn't seem to be the case with his human.

Pride sighed. Izuku Midoriya was truly a weakling in every sense of the word. 'Izuku' had his work cut out for him, if he was going to take his human half to the top.

Speaking of which, he spread his darkness and began doing rudimentary exercises. The more time he put in, the less chances he would lose control of this body. And after years of sleeping, he wasn't going back to slumber any time soon.

* * *

"Izuku, breakfast is ready!"

During his exercises, hours had flown by that 'Izuku' lost track of time. He scanned himself, seeing he was still wearing the clothes he slept on, green shorts and the white 't-shirt' t-shirt. Those would have to do.

'Izuku' moved into the kitchen to see Inko Midoriya had made quite the breakfast.

"Is everything alright, son?"

"I'm fine." He said curtly. She seemingly didn't believe but didn't press it. That was a relief. Truth be told, he didn't know what to make of Inko Midoriya. From the moment he entered this house, the woman had fussed over him. She was overbearing, clingy and downright pathetic with all her crying. Yet, 'Izuku' couldn't find it in himself to put her in her place or hurt her in anyway. He supposed it was because Izuku loved her and his feelings were, in a way, his own. Not that 'Izuku' actually felt any attachment for this pathetic human. The only reason he hadn't harmed her was because his human half would be unhappy.

Searching through Izuku's memories, 'Izuku' recalled he usually ate cereal for breakfast, sometimes a toast. So he poured some milk on a full bowl and started eating. It tasted pleasant enough.

During the whole ordeal, the woman watched her child, barely touching her own food. When he was done, he used his shadows to move the bowl and spoon to the sink. That was probably more of Izuku's emotional influence; he always put his dishes away after eating.

That caught Inko's interest. "You never used Shadowbender for that."

'Izuku' frowned. "I don't like that name."

Inko blinked.

"My quirk isn't 'shadowbender'. From now on, it's 'Pride'."

"Oh, have you gone to the Main Hall, already?"

It was 'Izuku''s turn to blink in confusion.

"To officially change its name, son." She clarified.

'Izuku' hummed, finding the idea acceptable. Without another word, he walked towards the door to leave.

"Where are you going, Izuku?"

Slightly annoyed, he replied. "To the Main Hall, like you said."

"Well, not dressed like that, you aren't. And you should at least take a shower first."

'Izuku' quirked an eyebrow and looked at himself. Yes, that's what Izuku would do. He sighed to himself as he made his way back to his room. Posing as his human half was going to get some used to.

* * *

**DELETED SCENES**

Scene 1: Fever dream. A horrible little joyride that anyone who started reading could tell it was a dream from the start.

"Why?" Ochaco Uraraka whimpered, a struggle just to talk. It's naturally hard to talk or think when you're missing your arm and you're bleeding out. "Why…Deku?"

Izuku Midoriya's smirk decreased just a little. "I thought I told you…"

The darkness lunged at her, slicing off her head. It rolled before his feet. Tears still streaming down her painted cheeks.

"…to never call me 'Deku'!" he snarled.

"Deku!" there was another snarl. One filled with pain and rage. Izuku turned his sight to a wall where Katsuki Bakugo was impaled. The darkness pierced him through the shoulders. "I'll kill you for this!"

"Ah, Kacchan, you're still alive! Good. Wouldn't want you expire just yet. After all, I made all of this for you." The green-haired one spread his arms, indicating to the entire classroom of 1-A filled with the bloodstained corpses of the former class. Most sliced in pieces, others twisted. Kirishima had suffered the arguably most merciful one; suffocation.

"You twisted fuck, I'll murder you!"

"What's wrong, Kacchan? Upset that I broke all your steppingstones to the number 1 spot?" Izuku approached until they were face to face. "This was just to show you that you never stood a chance against me. Now die the meaningless death you've earned, Deku."

A tendril of the darkness suddenly made its way down Bakugo's mouth until it reached his entrails and protuberated spikes on every angle, piercing bones, veins and vital organs. Bakugo's body convulsed, his scream of death muffled by the darkness filling his mouth. Then he moved and breath no more.

Izuku dropped the corpse and looked around the carnage. He licked his lips. On that moment, he felt…

Izuku Midoriya sat up on his bed, screaming.

Scene 2: Myself. This sentence was to be added at the end of the USJ when Pride takes full control. Originally I was going to have Uraraka and Iida been aware of Izuku's quirk drawbacks and have Pride reveal himself to them, but then I figured it was too soon in the story for that.

Izuku smirked. "This is not the new 'me'. This is the 'me' I should have always been. I feel free. Free to be myself for once in my life."

Scene 3: A weak pride. This was cut from the Battle Trial from the part when Pride psychologically dissects Bakugo. The last line was taken from FMA:B

"I never truly understood why you chose to pick on me, until now. Everyone else just ignored or laughed when I expressed my goal." He thought bitterly at the countless times people gave him treatment when they thought he was quirkless. "Yet, I never gave up. Still you had to try and bring me down at every opportunity. I think I figured out why you did that.

"You despise the fact that, despite my 'quirklessness', I still clang on to my dream. You seem to have this constant need to remind me, and everyone else, that you're aiming for the top. But are you reminding _them_ or yourself?"

"I hit the jackpot, didn't I? That's the true, Kacchan. You're so afraid of not being strong enough to reach the top, it's best to keep everyone else down and beneath you. So you can climb to the top of a mountain of beaten people." He scoffed irritated, like someone who just noticed a particularly annoying fly. "Your pride couldn't be any weaker."

Scene 4: Blooper. Just a joke scene from the Izuku VS Tokoyami fight.

The two darknesses were locked, trying to push and overpower each other, measuring their strength.

"Man, it's a reverse tug of war!" Sero whistled from the sidelines.

The two darknesses broke contact. Izuku's shadow morphed into a giant fist that intended to punch the bird. Dark Shadow's beak caught and snapped around the fist and tried to bend it sideways. Shadowbender attempted to do the same, in the opposite direction.

The majority of the males in the class cheered enthusiastically while some of the girls just looked on in disappointment as the stupidity that men due just to show off their strength.

"So now they're just arm-wrestling with their quirks?" Kyouka deadpanned.

"Go, Dark Shadow! Go!" Kaminari shouted.

"Beat him into the ground, Midoriya!"

Eventually, the two shadow weavers got bored and broke out of the arm-wrestling. They looked each other in the eye, agreeing it was time to take off the kid's gloves. Time for round #2, twice the brutality. They lunged into attack simultaneously. After the impact, only the victor stood.

….

….

….

….

….

….

….

….

….

And it was Tokoyami, who declared. "Scissors cuts paper."

* * *

**COMMENTARY**

**I'd like to say that this story was a new experience. The first MHA story I've ever written. When I first checked the fanfic page, I couldn't help but gasp at how many new stories were written or updated every day. MHA was all the talk of the day, so I thought I'd give it a shot. My first issue was finding something to write about. While MHA interests me mostly because of the action, I'm not a die-hard fan of it. What mostly concerns about the world of MHA is the prejudice against quirkless people. Like many others in the fandom, I'm interested in some villain!Izuku stories, but only a few. I like stories where Izuku works to abolish the present hero society but not those that portray him as a monster who wants to cause misery to everyone. I like to keep things realistic. Izuku is a sympathetic, kind person. While I believe that had things gone a bit different in canon, he could have turned into a villain, that would never radically change him to become a monster.**

**But I digress. I started Everything Black based on an AMV youtube video that shows Izuku getting Pride's powers. From the looks of the video, seems Shigaraki offered a quirkless Izuku a quirk that helped him bend shadows. But when AFO gave it to him, it changed Izuku's personality into a faux affably evil.**

**I wanted something more original, so I made Pride/Shadowbender Izuku's quirk since birth. Since it was my first MHA, I didn't want to diverge too much from canon yet, lest I create a dead end I couldn't escape from. So I made up an event that forced Izuku to live as a quirkless kid despite not truly being one, thus approaching him to canon Izuku.**

**Nonetheless, I had a few prototypes thought for Izuku. Prototype A was Izuku a carbon copy of Selim Bradley/Pride as a faux affably evil. Him playing the role of an innocent, kindhearted boy but in reality that was just a mask for the monster to wear. Prototype B was Izuku and Pride being too separate entities like Tokoyami and Dark Shadow. Izuku would grow up knowing he had a sentient quirk that constantly tries to goad him to do bad stuff to people who hurt him.**

**As for the story in general, some chapters took a lot more out of me than others. The second part of the Battle Trial was my favorite to write and I bet the favorite of many of you to read. The chapters that took me the longest were the ones I couldn't tell what to do with.**

**The cameo of Edward as an AI was a last-minute addition, but one with some premeditation. I thought of introducing cameos of FMA characters, or at least mention them only. For example, to explain how the League knew of the USJ schedule, Shigaraki could have sent a minion with the media to insert a virus in the school's system. Said virus was also an IA program modelled after Envy that would assimilate Edward and feed the info to the League.**

**In season two, I intend to make more cameos. The story will still revolve around Izuku and Pride. But since he won't be getting OFA, his performance at the Sports Festival and consequent internship will be quite different.**

**As always, I'm opened for suggestions. Give me your thoughts. See you in season 2 of Everything Black. **


	12. Sequel

**Sequel 'Kouman' is up...ish.**


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